A Took of a Tale
by BlazingSolstitium
Summary: When an adventure is put onto paper, the will author takes certain liberty with the facts. Some, for the sake of the parties involved; others for the author's own selfish reasons. For what ever the reasons, this is one of those stories. It is a story that begins in a hole in the ground with a meddling wizard and one particular hobbit who does not want an adventure.
1. An Unexpected Party

When an adventure is put down onto paper, sometimes the author will stray from the true of the true event. It may be for their own personal reasons, like making the story more appealing to readers; or to protect the privacy of the parties involved. There are times that it may be for multiple reasons, both selfish and self-less at the same time. Whatever the reason, often times the event the story was written about is sometimes much more interested than what ends up on paper.

Everyone knows the story of a young Hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins and his part in the desolation of the dragon Smaug and the Battle of the Four Armies, but no one but those involved knows the real truth of the matter. The truth of it was that Bilbo, though he always regretted his cowardice, never actually took part in the adventure. It was true that there was a hobbit that joined Thorin Oakenshield Company and that the dwarves met up at Bilbo's house with the goal of Bilbo joining them, but the meek Halfling did not join them in the end. In fact, after Gandalf's first visit, Bilbo was called off on very important affairs and was not at home when the dwarves arrived. So instead of Bilbo having to deal with the rambunctious dwarves, it was a very curious hobbit that had been left in charge of Bag End.

This is the true tale of the hobbit and the company of dwarves.

He had a terrible feeling, an absolute terrible foreboding about this wizard business. It was true he had enjoyed the old gray wizard's fireworks when he was just a wee lad but that did not keep a feeling of dread and unease from settling in the pit of his stomach. It was an unpleasant feeling that dulled his appetite. He could not understand why he would have let the wizard practically invite himself over for tea...no, that wasn't completely accurate, for Bilbo had offered to have the wizard over for tea. "Well, he didn't have to go and accept it!" the hobbit huffed as he ran a hand through his curly hair. The wizard knew full well that if he showed up to the hobbit's doorstep, unannounced, that due to the hospitable nature of Halflings would be invited over at a later date for tea so they could catch up. The look in Gandalf's eyes promised mischief and the fact that his glittering eyes were quite focused on Bilbo, the hobbit was quite positive that he would not be home. For a moment, he stared at the small satchel on the table in front of him, his mouth turning down into a small frown, his face twisted in hesitation. This was quite un-hobbit like behavior. It was most rude of him to invite someone over for tea only for the person to come and find no one at home. He let out a tired sigh in defeat as he slowly started unpacking his sack, despite how he dreaded facing the wizard again, Bilbo could not just let the wizard come to an empty house. He stopped his eyes wide as an idea popped into his head and soon a large grin appeared on his face as he let out a happy little laugh. "Hah! That is it! Oh Bilbo, you crafty Hobbit you!" He quickly flitted over to his desk and began scribbling something down on a piece of parchment, a positively giddy expression on his face. "It's so unfortunate," he said in mock disappointment, "that I've been called away for a family emergency and won't be home when the wizard comes." He laughed, "Oh but don't worry Gandalf, there will be someone to play host for you. I have just the hobbit and mind." He chuckled as he slid the letter into an envelope and rushed outside to get sent. He waved down a bored looking boy that seemed to have nothing better to do than dragging a stick along the fence. "You there, lad!" Bilbo cried out excitedly. The young hobbit startled, threw his stick into the long grass, suddenly afraid that he was in trouble. The look of fear on the boy's face caused Bilbo to let out a chuckle, "I'll forgive you for abusing my fence if you run this letter over to my cousin's for me. The post's come already this morning but it is dreadfully important that this reaches my cousin by the day's end. Deliver it faithfully and I'm sure you'll be rewarded handsomely with some tasty sweeties."

Bilbo laughed merrily as the boy snatched the letter with eyes gleaming with the idea of sweets and was off running, letter in hand. Now that the letter well on its way, Bilbo was finally able to sit down and relax for a while. .

It was shortly after lunch time when a cloaked figure arrived at Bilbo's front door. When Bilbo answered, he was greeted with the wide, beaming smile of his cousin, Primose Mirabella Took. Before he could give a proper greeting, his cousin had her arms around his neck, planting excited kisses on each cheek, "Oh Bilbo! I was so happy to get your letter!" she gushed, releasing Bilbo from her hug. "We must sit down and have a bit of tea before you leave! I haven't heard from you in years," her lip stuck out into a pout, "you never visit anymore."

Bilbo laughed and ruffled her hair, "Prim, you haven't changed a bit have you?! Still as wild as ever!"

Prim straightened herself high and looked at her cousin through narrowed eyes, "Well," she said snobbishly, "I have changed quite a bit, thank you very much, dear cousin." She placed her hands on her hips indignantly, "Well, are you going to keep your guest out here on the stoop as if she was some beggar off the streets?"

Bilbo's mouth opened, not sure what to say about his cousin's sudden mood change but managed to force his self to step to the side to let the Took brush past him. She swung her cloak off her shoulders gracefully and hung it up on a hook and looked over her shoulder at her cousin with raised eyebrows, "Well, are you going to just stand there with the door hanging open?" Once Prim turned away from her cousin, she allowed a pleased smile to grace her lips, enjoying the fact that she could throw him off so easily. "Is it a crime to be excited to see my favorite cousin after so many months of neglect from him? I should think not, after all we were such good friends as children."

Stuttering, Bilbo managed to gather his senses and quickly shut the door behind them with an apologetic frown, "My apologies Primose, I didn't mean to upset you. You have grown up since we last met, I can tell that now." He ran a hand through his hair again before inviting her into the salon, "I'll get you some tea." He turned to leave after he saw her sit down in a chair but her bell like laughter made him stop and turn back to her. Her expression made his face go red in embarrassment.

"It's true, I have changed into quite the respectable young lady," she smiled and winked as she stood up, "but I bet I could still beat you in a wrestling match."

A while later, the two sat comfortably together, laughing about their childhood and the years they spent raising hell. They had just finished recalling one of their more ridiculous adventures and Bilbo was trying to stop himself from laughing, "Oh you were a right terror when we were little! I'm surprised your parents let you out at all!"

Prim straightened up in her chair, taking on the same regal aire as before but the corners of her lips were still pulled up in a coy smile, "They did try their hardest to reign me in," she paused, leaning in to her cousin as if she had a secret, " but they forgot one thing?"

Bilbo grinned and leaned in, "What was that?"

Prim broke out to a grin, "I'm Primrose Mirabella Took and no one can ever tame me!" she announced proudly before they both leaned back into their chairs laughing, "It was something they always seemed to forget, they could teach me to be prim and proper but deep inside, I'll always be the little lass with the muddy face beating all the boys at all their silly games."

It was then that Bilbo noticed the time, "Dear me, I must be off!" He got to his feet quickly and went to grab his bag, which was already by the door. Prim followed him, feeling a little sad that he had to leave so soon, but she helped the backpack onto his back and handed him his walking stick. Bilbo turned and gave her a big hug, "Take care of the place for me Prim?"

"Of course, she'll be just how you left her." Prim said solemnly.

Bilbo smiled and nodded as he opened the door, "Help yourself to anything you want, I'll be back a few days. Don't let Gandalf push you around, if he gives you too much trouble feel free to show him the door." They hugged once more and with brief farewell, Bilbo was off, feeling a little guilty for leaving her to deal with his problem.

Primrose sat in the silence of Bag End, taking in all the little details of the woodwork around her. It had been a long time since she had last stepped foot in the place and now that she was there alone, she could take her time and enjoy the splendor of the place. She sighed, her elbow propped on the arm rest of the chair; her fingers lazily playing with her golden curls as her eyes flitted about the cozy room. It was much like her own home, except on a much grander scale. Her hole was pleasant, warm and clean but small and with her family, it seemed over crowded when everyone was home. She honestly didn't mind the hustle and bustle that was home, it made her feel alive and that she was a part of something but that didn't stop her from relishing being in a house on her own. Being a woman without a husband, she was still living with her family and while she had no intention of settling down and marrying any time soon, she did dream of when she had a house of her own. Here, in this big old hole, if Prim closed her eyes, she could imagine that she was sitting in a house of her own, a house that was her's alone. A smile playing on her lips as she took a deep, satisfied sigh.

The afternoon was dwindling and though she wanted to sit and enjoy the silence a little longer, Prim knew Gandalf was expected anytime now so she forced herself up and into the kitchen to start a fresh kettle. While the water boiled, Prim decided to do a little set up and went about making the west facing parlor a little more accommodating for her large guest. She pulled a large chair; one that Prim hoped would be large enough for the old fireworks exhibitioner to be comfortable in. She opened up the little curtains to let the light of the sinking sun and fluffed up the little decorative pillows and wiped off any settling dust from the little shelves and table among the room. She set the nice tea set out onto the little round table on top of a nice lace doily and went and set some of the canister of tea Bilbo kept in his large pantry. Prim let out a laugh seeing all the food Bilbo kept and though she ate a lot herself, she couldn't imagine a single hobbit eating as much as one would have to so this store won't be spoiled. She imagined Bilbo turning into a portly hobbit if he continued to eat as much as it seemed he did.

Time moved on and on until it was far past evening tea time and approaching supper and the wizard still had not shown. Prim huffed and fumed about the rudeness of the big folk as she stomped down the halls of Bag End. After another hour of pacing and glancing out the window and letting out exaggerated sighs and growls, Prim decided that the old man wasn't going to show and she wasn't going to wait for him. "Humph, if that old man shows up while I'm eating supper, he better not expect any from me!" Prim announced loudly to no one but herself before whisking herself away to the kitchen to make dinner. It was quite dark when Prim finally sat down for supper and she had to light candles throughout the hole so that there was still a little light in the place. She had all but forgotten about the visitor that never showed up to tea and was set in not letting it ruin the rest of her evening, after all it was not every day that Bilbo asked her to come and visit not to mention to watch the place. She had long ago, discarded her nice dress that she had been set on wearing to welcome her guest but instead of wearing her nightgown, which she realized had been forgotten, she borrowed a pair from her cousin. Normally, she wouldn't have worn a man's nightclothes but she was alone and she was quite sure her cousin would not have minded. Yes, it was a little improper but who would see her? So, dressed in comfortable bed clothes and a robe, Prim sat down in the warm kitchen to eat her dinner of grilled fish, potatoes and grilled mushrooms.

It was then that a loud knock sounded at the door and Prim practically slammed her fork down onto the table. "Of course, leave it to the Big Folk to arrive for supper when invited to tea!" She stood up and walked to the door as she made sure her robe was tied shut and put on her most hospitable hobbit smile to welcome the unwelcomed guest. She was a hobbit after all and so she would shine a light on his rude behavior by highlighting the great hobbit hospitality that her people were famous for. No doubt the wizard would feel guilty once he realizes the inconvenience he has caused and at that time Prim would graciously accept his heartfelt apologize and say that it is not his fault that he was a large bumbling fool of an old man. Oh yes, it would be quite worth the trouble then. As she swung open the door, ready to greet an old man in gray, she was stunned to see a dwarf standing in front of her. The unexpected image gave her a small start and she took a step back in surprise, "Oh!" she exclaimed quietly and couldn't help but show her confusion. "Can I help you?" she asked once she composed herself, only to be forced aside as the dwarf pushed inside as though he had been expected.

The imtidating dwarf hung his green cloak hastily on the nearest peg and turned to Prim, "Dwalin, at your service!" he said with a low bow. His voice coarse and short, as if the action was merely habit and was not as important as other things on his mind.

"Primrose Took, at yours." said the flabbergasted hobbit, still unable to bring forth any of the questions swirling around in her mind. It wasn't every day that a dwarf shows up unannounced so she could not help but be kind and polite, if not a little surprised. Prim couldn't help but frown however when Dwalin started making his way down the corridor, peering into the different rooms as he went. She quickly went after him, "C-can I help you?"

"Where is it?" the dwarf with the dark beard and the shaved and tattooed head, not even bothering to look at her as he continued his search. "Is it in here?"

Prim stopped for a moment, "Where is what?" she asked, unabashedly upset and confused. After all, this visitor was unexpected and there was no way that he came here with expectations of any kind. "What's in where?"

"Dinner." The dwarf said matter-o-factly, "I was told there'd be food and lots of it." His lips pulled up under his beard into a crooked smirk as he finally reached the kitchen and spotted the plate with Prim's supper lying upon it. Dwalin took no time in sitting himself in front of it and started helping himself.

"By all means!" she cried seeing her dinner being devoured, quite at her ends at the whole situation. Seeing that the dwarf wasn't going to pay her any attention until his stomach was full with her supper, Prim resigned herself to sit on a little stool in the corner. "Do I know you?" she choked out meekly, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"No," he said through a mouthful of food. His voice sounding shocked and annoyed as if he had just answered a stupid and bothersome question. Prim frowned and sunk down in her seat as she glowered at him. Once Dwalin had finished shoveling the last bit of food into his mouth, he look up at her from under bushy eyebrows, "Is there any more?"

"Pardon?"

"Food. Is there any more?" he clarified gruffly.

"Oh," she exclaimed softly as she hopped off her little stool and looked around, finally grabbing a plate of biscuits. As she spun around, she deftly slipped a couple of biscuits into the pockets of her robes for her to eat later. "Here." she gasped as she practically threw down the plate in front of the dwarf, who looked up with raised eyebrows before starting on them.

Prim had barely returned to her sad little stool when came a loud, harsh ring from the door. She looked up, eyes wide and prayed that it had just been her ears ringing. Any hopes of it being a figment of her frazzled nerves was shot down when Dwalin decided he would point out that it was, in fact, the door. She shot him a brief glare before hopping to her feet and rushed to the door, thinking that this time, it had to be Gandalf. Primrose was about to say, "So you have got here at last!" but as she opened the door, she was faced with yet another dwarf. Unlike the scary looking Dwalin, the dwarf before her was much shorter and wider with a snowy head of hair and a handsome long beard, equally as white. He had a large nose and a friendly twinkle in his eye on his aged face. Like Dwalin, he too hopped inside the door.

Upon seeing Dwalin's green cloak on the peg next to the one he was placing his own scarlet one, he exclaimed happily, "I see they have begun to arrive already" He turned to Primrose and gave a deep, meaningful bow, "Balin, at your service," he said, saluting with a hand on his chest.

"Thank you," Prim replied breathlessly, unable to say anything else for her mind was still rolling Balin's statement that _they have begun to arrive._ It upset her deeply at the message's meaning that she could be expecting more than just the two. Balin's kindly voice interrupted her brooding and she realized that she had been standing there holding the door open like a fool while the newest house guest had gone inside and was now face to face with Dwalin. She frowned with embarrassment and she quickly shut the door and went into the living room where the two dwarfs had their arms locked in a friendly greeting.

"Brother." the taller Dwalin said in a low, affectionate voice, and then chuckled, "You are shorter and wider than the last we met."

Balin laughed, "Not shorter, just wider. But still enough to show you a thing or two." The two smiled and leaned in to touch foreheads and Primrose smiled, her heart light at seeing the emotional reunion between the two dwarfs. Seeing the two brothers reunited almost made up for their unexpected visit, that was until the two dwarves butted heads so violently that it caused her head to hurt. She followed them as they went off to the pantry and started taking inventory of its contents. Primrose was trying think of what she was going to tell Bilbo when he came back to find his pantry empty when she heard yet another ring at the door.

"Gandalf for certain this time," she thought angrily as she puffed down the corridor. She should not have gotten her hopes for the third time that evening; it was not the wizard who was on the other side of Bilbo's front door. This time it was two rather young and handsome looking dwarves, wearing blue hooded cloaks. One had dark hair and short beard, shaved close to his chin and a pair of dark sparklingly eyes that promised good hearted mischief. The other had golden hair and a start of a good beard that was just long enough to braid into two plaits. His nose was a bit larger than the dark haired dwarf and his eyes were an intelligent blue. Both dwarves were laid heavy with various knives and swords and other weapons and their boots were covered in a thick layer of mud.

"Fili" said the blonde dwarf.

"Kili." echoed the second.

"At your service!" They chimed together as they pulled back their blue hoods and bowed before sweeping in throw the door.

"Primrose Took, at yours." she piped pleasantly before turning to close the door and frowning. "You two are most definitely related." she muttered under her breathe.

"How'd you know!?" the dark haired youth asked enthusiastically as he hung his hood up.

Prim not fully aware that she had said her thoughts aloud until then stuttered, trying to think up another reason than the not so pleasant one that had spurred the thought. "You have a similar look on your faces; it is quite obvious that the two of you are kin."

The young dwarf smiled before the two of them started unloading their burdens and tossing them to the side as they made their way down the passages. Tracking mud as they went.

"Please, your boots!" Primrose cried after them, all but in tears at the mess they were leaving behind them. She trailed them darkly, picking up the weapons they left and stored them properly before going to grab herself a much needed drink. Prim could hear the company of dwarves talking of mines and gold and troubles with goblins and of dragons, and most of what they spoke of went over Primrose's poor, spinning head. She had only just sat herself down when, -_ding-dong-a-ling,_ rang that horrible bell once again. Prim was quite ready to pull the damned thing's handle off and be done with its ringing. Her head fell into her hands as she let out a shuddering sigh at the trouble Bilbo had gotten her into. _Ding-dong-a-ling-dang _rang the nasty little bell once again and Primrose reluctantly rose to her feet. As she opened the door, no longer having the strength to force anything resembling a smile on her face, to find five more dwarves. Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin and Gloin were their names.

She followed them through the passage where they joined the rest of the dwarves in rearranging Bilbo's dining room. Plates were being thrown and furniture being moves and Prim was dreadfully sure that she was going to faint. Some started calling out for ale and some for porter or coffee. All of them called for cakes; and so Primrose was kept very busy for a while. All the while cursing Bilbo and that damn wizard.

A loud knock sounded at the door and by the sound of it, it was someone knocking on the round door with a hard stick. A stick surely cracking and denting Bilbo's beautiful green door. She put down what she was holding and rushed to the door, face red in her anger and was very close to blowing her top. Prim pulled back on the door with a jerk and in fell four more dwarves. And there behind them all, leaning on his staff, laughing was Gandalf. Upon seeing her, Gandalf's bushing eyebrows pushed up under the brim of his hat and surprise. The four dwarves made their introductions which Primrose accepted gracefully and once they had all hung up their rainbow of cloaks and rushed off to join the throng, she turned a cold gaze to Gandalf.

"Well, this is most certainly an unexpected surprise!" The old man exclaimed as he removed his hat and ducked inside. "Why, if it isn't Primrose Took!"

Prim nodded with an obviously forced smile, "Greetings Mr. Gandalf. Bilbo extends his regrets, he was called away suddenly on urgent affairs and could not be here. I am here to act as hostess tonight, though you are quiet late and have seemed to taken it upon yourself to invite a few unexpected guest." She did not try to hide the coolness in her voice, making it known that she was not pleased with the evenings events. "I had just given up hope that you were to show and had just sat down to eat dinner when the first one showed up. Ate the food right off my own plate, he did. I dare say, the first one hasn't stopped eating since he arrived."

"Oh," the old wizard said, apologetically, "forgive me, I was sure I had mentioned the additional guests when I last met with Bilbo but now I see that I must have been mistaken. As for our tardiness, I'm afraid that the journey took longer than I had initially hoped."

A loud clatter of plates and the sound of furniture being dragged against the floor caused Prim to spin around to see one of the dwarves juggling heirloom dishes and one of Bilbo's antique chairs. She gave out a loud cry before rushing off to stop some disaster from occurring leaving Gandalf alone with a dark expression, shaking his head. "Most unexpected, indeed."

The next half an hour was spent trying to keep the dwarves' hands off of Bilbo's antiques for they all seemed quite set on bringing out every piece of valuable furniture out into the dining all. The only dwarf that seemed to have any inkling of common courtesey was Oin, an awkward and shy young dwarf that blushed each time he asked her for something. Prim could not help but smile and speak kindly to him but for the majority her time was spent flittering from pantry to pantry, trying to save something for when Bilbo returned.

At one moment when Primrose stood in the corner of the main hall, helplessly watching the destruction of Bag End, Gandalf came to stand beside her. "What is ever the matter Miss Took?"

Her eyes turned on him incredulously, "What is the matter? What is the matter?" Prim's voice was low and shrill, "Oh nothing is the matter! Nothing at all! Only that Bilbo asked me to take good care of Bag End and to entertain a wizard and now I'm watching her be torn apart and having to deal with, not only a wizard but a whole company of dwarves." She let out a miserable moan, "I am quite sure Bilbo will skin me alive when he comes back."

Gandalf laughed, "I think it is quite the merry gathering!"

"Merry? Merry for them perhaps. I dare say they have no regards for the property of others. There's mud trod on the carpets, they've cleaned out the pantry and all but ruined the plumbing. I dare say that I won't get a wink of sleep tonight, for I'll be stuck cleaning long into the night."

Gandalf had urged her to give them all a chance and not let her mind worry about the cleaning until the morning but Primrose could not but distress over it all.

When finally the dwarves seemed to have eaten their fill, Primrose set her weary self upon the task of clearing the table but before she could even pick up two plates, they were whisked out of her hands. Already, the dwarves around her, excluding Gandalf, who was merrily watching the show, had made tall piles of all the things. Off they went, balancing towers of plates, each with a bottle on top. Prim was left, almost squeaking with fright: "Please don't trouble yourselves! I can manage." But instead of stopping the dwarves started to laugh and sing a song.

At the end of the dreadful song about breaking dishes and spilling milk on the carpets, all the dishes had been washed, dried and placed in tidy little stacks without a single dish being broken. How they had managed was beyond Primrose but when that heavy, sharp knocking sounded, the company became silent. Gandalf took a long draw on his long pipe, looking quite serious as he turned to look towards the door, "He has arrived." Primrose rose slowly, quite shocked at the sudden change of mood and decided that it was best if she didn't waste time answering it. If whoever was on the other side of the door, commanded that much of a change in the mood of dwarves than he was not one to be kept waiting. Prim was right in this thought for on the other side of the door stood, an enormously important dwarf, no other than the great Thorin Oakenshield himself. Of course, Prim did not know how important he was until later in the evening but it was clear enough from how the dwarf carried himself that he was important, or at least thought himself to be. The dwarf was older but not as old as many of the dwarves already sitting at her table but not as young as Fili, Kili and Oin. If she had to guess, he was middle aged as far as dwarves were concerned for his long, wavy black hair was streaked with gray but his face was still youthful except for the start of wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and on his brow. This Thorn was quite haughty and in face did not bother to great her as the others had done and instead gave her an odd look and Prim suddenly became quite aware on her current appearance. She let out a nervous laugh as she smoothed out invisible wrinkles on her robe and tried to tidy her hair, her face flushing pink. "Please, come inside and let me take your cloak."

He took of his cloak and handed to her, "Were you not informed of our meeting?"

Prim's faced became a darker shade of pink as she took his cloak and turned to hang it up with the others, trying to find her voice for she felt quite sheepish and awkward. Fortunately, Gandalf, who had just walked up, answered for her. "Ah, I believe that would be my fault," he admitted apologetically. "It seems when I met with my friend the other day, I forgot to tell him that there would be others and in fact I had told Mr. Baggins that it would be over tea time that we would be meeting. I'm afraid Miss. Took was quite oblivious to our small get-together and had given up that I would ever show up, since it was long past the time for tea."

The noble dwarf nodded before looking around, "So, this Mr. Baggins, is he the hobbit you spoke of? Surely, it is not the woman."

Gandalf shook his head, "Regretfully, Mr. Baggins was called off for some urgent matters and is not here. I seemed to have also failed to tell him how important it was for us to speak, but don't worry, we are well looked after for we his dear cousin." He said hastily before turning to Prim, "Miss Primrose Mirabella Took, may I introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

Thorin only gave a small nod in her direction but his eyes never left Gandalf, "Does this change things?"

Gandalf gave a nervous looking smile and his eyes landed on Prim just long enough to make her fidget before moving back to Thorin, "No, I do not think so. Hobbits are very peculiar creatures and tend to surprise even the most world wise. Should she choose, I believe she can be just what we are looking for."

Thorin let out an unsatisfied grunt as he turned to Prim a hard, judgmental stare before heading down to the dining room to join his company, leaving Prim in a huff. "Who does he think he is?" she puffed out, stamping her feet angrily as Gandalf let out a sigh as if relieved in Thorin's reaction.

The old wizard turned to her, "That, my dear Primrose, is a dwarf prince. One that has had a much undeserved hard life."

Her mouth opened up into a small 'O' of understanding before it snapped back into a stubborn frown, as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Prince or not, that doesn't excuse him for bad manners. Not even a proper 'how-do-you-do'! I would have thought his manners would have at least surpassed his friends in the other room, but in fact he is much ruder. Prince, indeed! And what's all this nonsense about me changing anything? By all means, just because Bilbo isn't here to entertain, doesn't mean I can't do just as well of job! After all, I was always told that I could outwit him on even his best day when we were younger."

Gandalf smiled down at the stubborn hobbit lass before remembering the very impatient dwarf prince waiting for the meeting to begin. He cleared his throat hastily, "Well, I believe I should go and speak with Thorin for a moment. Primrose, perhaps you might wish to put more appropriate clothes now that you have moment to do so?"

Prim blinked a couple of times before blushing. She bobbed her head hastily, "Oh. Yes. Quite right," she agreed before she turned and fled to her room. Moments later, after the fastest change of clothes that had ever been performed by a hobbit, Primrose emerged, dressed for entertaining company. She felt much more confidant and decided, as she walked down towards the dwarves, that she wasn't about to let them push her around anymore. She was Mistress of Bag End while Bilbo was absent and she wasn't going to let herself be ordered about in her own home. Primrose actually had more of a reason to stand up for herself, since in fact; this was not her own house. She couldn't well have Bag End destroyed under her care. She also decided that she would show Thorin the respect that his position called for and in the process, shed light on his poor manners.

Before joining them, Primrose made a brief stop to find if Bilbo's secret stash of beautifully aged wines had remained safely hidden from the ransacking dwarves and was happy to find that they perfectly well hidden away; she found Bilbo's finest glass for it and poured a respectful amount before returning the bottle to its safe hiding place. She paused before removing the bottle once again and poured one for herself before taking the two glasses out to the waiting dwarves. Upon entering, Kili jumped to his feet and laughed loudly, "Ori was right after all! You are a girl!"

This caused Prim's face to turn pink and she gave the young, dark haired dwarf a glare. "Of course I am!" she huffed as she offered Thorin the wine in the finer glass, which the noble dwarf accepted with a nod. "I should think it is rather obvious!"

Kili laughed at Prim's flustered face, "It is hard to tell with you Halflings, you all seem to like such bright and flowery colors." He looked at his brother, Fili, who was shaking his head, and elbowed him, "Fili, look! I didn't believe -"

"Hush!" scolded Gandalf. "Let Thorin speak."

"Gandalf, dwarves and Miss. Took! We are met together in the house of our friend and fellow conspirator, this most excellent and audacious hobbit-may the hair on her toes never fall out! All praise to her wine and ale!" He paused for a moment to allow everyone to 'here here' and for Prim to politely thank him for his kind words-though she was half tempted to point out that this was not her house and that she did not all like the terms _audacious _and _fellow conspirator,_ to be associated with her. Thorin went on:

"We are met to discuss our plans, our ways, means, policy and devices. We shall soon before the break of day start on our long, long journey, a journey from which some of us, or perhaps all of us may never return. Our object is well known to us all. To the estimable Miss Took, and perhaps to one of two of the younger dwarves, the exact situation at the moment may require a little brief explanation-"

Much of Thorin's brief explanation was not so brief, but that was Thorin's way. He was an important dwarf and if Gandalf would have allowed it, he would have probably gone on for quite a while longer until he was blue in the face, without telling anyone there anything that was not already known. Primrose was sitting and listening the whole time and all the while trying to contain the panic that this explanation was causing to swell inside. She was quite sure that she would not be able to hold back a cry when Gandalf interrupted, not doubt seeing the color drain from Prim's face and the way she grasped the little glass of wine in her hands, knuckles white. Prim took her chance and jumped to her feet with an excited, nervous squeak and started to flee this whole situation.

"Miss Took, where on earth are you off to?" Gandalf called after her, laughter in his voice.

She stopped and turned, her hands gripping the sides of her dress. "Oh. Um. I thought I might grab another light! Yes! Just more light, I think! Don't bother!" she squeaked as she saw Gandalf and one or two of the dwarves stand up anxiously. "Don't bother yourselves! I am quite fine! Really, quite well." she said as she stepped backwards. "I am quite capable. I shant be long! Not long at all. Just a light it all!" And with that Prim spun and fled into the other room where she collapsed into a chair in the corner to calm herself.

"Excitable little hobbit," said Gandalf, as he settled back down into his seat with a chuckle, "Gets funny queer fits, but she is one of the best-as fierce as a dragon in a pinch."

The dwarves returned to their seats and Thorin, who had not left his chair, looked to the wizard with a wholly unamused look set onto his serious face, "She's more like a door mouse than a dragon." The dwarves and Gandalf laughed.

"Exactly," Gandalf said with his eyes crinkled from a knowing smile, "A mouse is a most timid and excitable creature, it is easy to startle but do you ever see or hear a mouse? Or at least, do you ever take notice of one?" When the silence didn't break, the wizard went on: "Of course not. Mice make excellent burglars because no one pays much attention to one, meek, little mouse scurrying about."

The soft(er) spoken dwarf Ori piped up, sounding proud of himself, "That's why we need Miss Took!" Ori's proud moment was quickly shot down by the other dwarves, who laughed and called him silly and made his expression fall into one of embarrassment and self-pity.

Balin was the next dwarf who spoke, "It is no place for a woman where we're going. Even if she is as talent of a burglar as you say, we are not stealing trinkets from sleepy houses; we are going after a dragon."

"Balin is right," Thorin said sharply, "when you told me that you would find the final member of our company, I placed faith that you would find someone that would be a valuable asset to this quest. I did not expect you to choose a Halfling, not just a Halfling but a young woman. She has no place on this journey, Gandalf."

Primrose had been sitting silently in the next room, listening to the words being spoken. Gandalf had been good enough to defend her abrupt departure from the table valiantly and she was thankful for that but as the conversation progressed, her fear and anxiousness from learning the details of the quest seemed to diminish and be replaced by anger. She knew it was the way of the world, it was a man's world and a woman had few places she belonged in it but it had always bothered Prim, who was always a bit of a free-spirit, that men always felt they had to point it out all the time. Really, a woman could do the all the things men do just as well, _We only choose not to do them._

"You told me to pick someone and Miss Took is my choice. You should trust my judgment." Gandalf voice argued and which several voices responded in outrage, all arguing with and against each other. Some agreed with Gandalf, saying that he was wiser than any of them, others stood firm with Balin and Thorin.

After a few minutes of the arguing, Prim stood to her feet; her jaw set tight, her eyes angry and determined as she marched into the other room with hands on her hips. "That is quite enough, all of you!" she roared, her sudden appearance and her surprising assertiveness that seemed to have been non-existent earlier caused them all to stop their bickering and stare. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" she chastised the group, "Especially, you Master Thorin: A man of your standing showing such disregard to your hostess is beyond any justification. You may not like the situation, just as I do not like the fact that my home has been invaded by a company of dwarves, who has cleaned me out of house and home, but as master of this home, I have certain obligations to be pleasant, polite accommodating. I have opened up my home to all of you and yet you sit here, in my dining room, having drunk all my ale and ate all my food and still have the nerve to speak of me in such a manner. You should be ashamed. All of you." Her eyes surveyed the group of bearded me, who, with the exception of Thorin, Dwalin and Balin, had sunken low into their chairs, looking quite sorry for themselves. Two of the three exceptions still had their eyes downcast, looking as though they had just been scolded by their mothers, while Thorin sat eyes boring into her. Surprisingly, Thorin's steely gaze did not make her falter and for once the mighty prince did not look so intimidating.

Prim returned his gaze and matched its intensity, it was a challenge, the each were daring each other to say something or to admit defeat by looking away first, but they both were set on not backing down. The sound of Gandalf chuckling made both Hobbit and Dwarf Prince break eye contact simultaneously, Prim's eyes snapped angrily at the wizard, "I don't see what's so funny Gandalf. You are as guilty as the lot of them so you would do well to wipe that smug look off your face and have the decency to look sorry for yourself."

Gandalf coughed and sputtered, the smile vanishing from his face and Prim smiled, satisfied with the reaction. "Now that that's done, we can get down to business. First thing, I am a Hobbit, not a Halfling. Best way not to offend the one who is feeding you and, I can safely assume, housing you all for the night is by not using a term that her people, as a whole do not like being called. Now, I believe we can all agree on the fact that I am not only a Hobbit but I am a woman as well, as shocking as that may be to some of you." She gave Fili and Kili a pointed look before turning her face to the whole of the group, "Now I don't really understand this bunch of nonsense about dragons and treasure but I'm sure I'd be able to do anything any other hobbit, especially my cousin, could do just as good if not better." With that Prim crossed her arms in front of her and gave a sharp nod, immensely proud of herself and feeling that she had put everyone in their proper places.

"So you accept then?" a hopeful voice rang out from one of the dwarves, breaking Prim out of her very Tookish mindset.

"Excuse me?" she squeaked out trying to figure out which dwarf had spoken. It was obvious the suggestion that she would actually be going on this adventure had brought out the timidness that came from her mother's side.

"You hear that? She said yes!" proclaimed the dwarf with obviously bad hearing merrily.

"I-I said no such thing!" Prim fussed, "I only suggested if I had the mind to accept, I'd be able to perform adequately for the job needed." She turned and walked over to a small stool and sat down in a huff, "Besides, I've heard no mention of what's in it for me. From what I gather you would expect me to face a dragon and you expect me to drop everything and accept?" A laugh jumped from her throat as if a joke had been said, giving the group a disbelieving look before collecting herself. "Well," she announced matter-o-factly, "If you think that then you've come to the wrong hobbit."

There was a silence and all eyes were on poor little Primrose Took and once again. She felt small and very uncomfortable and though she tried her hardest; Once again she found her eyes locking with those dark, piercing eyes of Thorin Oakenshield. Gandalf as if sensing the rising tension, leaned in toward the prince and whispered into his ear, "Thorin, you must trust me on this."

Thorin's eyes only flickered away towards Gandalf for a fraction of a second before recapturing those that belonged to our reluctant heroine. Prim felt she was going to faint but just when she thought she was going to expire under that heavy gaze; Thorin shifted in his chair and broke his gaze, suddenly looking disinterested. "Balin," he said authoritively, "give it to her."

Just like that, everyone, not including Primrose, relaxed and the atmosphere of the dwarves lightened. The sagely, white haired Balin, reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment and Prim found herself jumping to her feet to accept it from him. Carefully, Prim unfolded the paper as if she had expected to explode and Balin, ever the professional decided explain its contents to help her ease her nerves. "You'll find it's the usual: risks, out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, and so forth."

Prim was already skimming through the contract that was written in tidy and clear script though as she read, murmuring aloud. "-Up to but not exceeding one fourteenth of total profit if any. Sounds fair enough" she agreed with herself bobbing her head as she continued, "Present company shall not be liable for injuries including but not limited to laceration, evisceration...incineration?" Each word of injury made her Tookish side become smaller and smaller as her voice became more breathless and shaky.

As if wanting to make her growing panic worse, the dwarf named Bofur came up beside her with playful gleam in his eye though he tried to appear just as sagely as Balin or even Thoring himself. "Oh, aye. He'll melt the flesh right of your bones in a blink of an eye." He smirked and took a long drag of his pipe when Prim squeaked and lost all color to her usual rosy complexion.

Balin leaned into her, "You all right, lassie?"

"Yes, I'm-I'm fine." Prim laughed nervously as she took a seat, pulling out a lace handkerchief and dabbing the sweat that had started to bead on her pale forehead.

"Think furnace," Bofur whispered close to her ears, "with wings!"

She looked at him, eyes wide and even though her heart was racing and her head was spinning, she could tell the dwarf was having too much fun but she didn't have the self-control to mention it. Prim tried tapping her fingers on her knees and breathing exercises but nothing seemed to give her relief from her distress and at once she had this desperate need for air and she jumped to her feet, causing her head to spin. "I need air!" Prim shouted as she rushed into the next room, away from the heat and stuffiness of the crowded dining room. Images of fire and brimstone and lots of pain and death assaulting her brain.

Bofur having too much fun followed her as far as the archway and leaned against the frame, "Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing but a pile of ash."

Primrose suddenly stopped her pacing and became eerily still, her eyes trained up at the ceiling as if she was in the middle of a thought and once again eyes were on her and Gandalf had even rose to his feet and looked as though he was about to go over to her. The silence seemed to last forever until eventually Prim turned, shook her head and proceeded to faint right on the rug, immediately after managing to utter the word, "No."

When Primrose came to, she was sitting in Bilbo's favorite armchair in a dark room with only a single candle lit on a small table at the far end of the room. She could hear the dwarves muttering quietly a couple rooms over but what caught her attention was the thin line of silvery smoke trailing up to the ceiling from the shadows behind the candle. As her eyes focused she could make out the moonlit silhouette of Gandalf and could see his eyes watching her. Sitting there under Gandalf's steady gaze with him making to sign of speaking anything soon, made Prim feel like she was a child again and was waiting for the inevitable 'I'm severely disappointed with you' speech. It made her shrink away from his gaze and in turn notice a steaming cup of tea sitting on the side table beside her. Snatching up the cup, she took a slow sip, eyes darting to and from the wizard.

After a long moment of no one saying anything, Prim had become quite irritated with the gray wizard. Taking another calming drink of her tea, she looked at the wizard, "I'll be fine, I just need to sit quietly for a while."

As if her words were a trigger, Gandalf sprung to his feet, pipe in hand. "If you ask me, you've been sitting quietly for far too long Primrose Took. When did doilies and dishes become so precious to you? Where is the hobbit that used to knock her cousins in the mud and go looking for elves in the woods?"

Prim sighed and rubbed her temples, "She grew up Gandalf. I have responsibilities now; I can't go gallivanting off on adventures. I have an obligation to my family, they rely on me." She meant to sound proud but her voice was quiet and defeated.

"Hah!" Gandalf scoffed, "Responsibilities indeed! Tell me Primrose, you speak of your responsibilities your family expects from you, what are those responsibilities?"

"Well," she started, sounding proud and respectful once again as she straighten up in her chair and placed her cup on the table, "Bilbo gave me full responsibility for this house while he was away. I cannot just leave it unattended can I? How would that reflect upon my character?"

"If Bilbo was the hobbit I thought him to be, it would not be you sitting here before me, but him! Bilbo knew very well that I wanted him to be a part of some adventure but he ran away like a coward and dumped the burden off on his poor cousin. Tell me, how does that speak for his character?"

Primrose frowned and diverted her attention to the pattern on the rug; "He did tell me you were up to trouble and to not let you push me around..." she defended weakly.

"Did he now? Now that completely makes up for the whole thing now doesn't it?" Gandalf said sarcastically.

"I also have many responsibilities at home. I'm expected to help with the housework and the cooking and taking care of my younger siblings."

"You speak about the expectations of your family but what about the expectations of yourself?" the old wizard said with a sigh, his voice softening. "I know the years did not change you that much, despite what you tell yourself. I know that you dream of more than what you family expects of you. Besides," he said laughing, "what about living up to that Took name of yours?"

Prim looked at him and a smile crept up on her face, though she couldn't bare looking the wizard in the face. What he spoke seemed to sound deeply within her. She wanted so much more than what her family did. Her mother and father's only hopes for her were to marry well and have many children so that eventually Prim would take care of them. She would live with her parents until she married or her parents died after seeing her grow to be a spinster. Prim didn't want that. Sure she'd like to be married eventually, but she didn't want that to dictate how she lived her own life. She wanted to be a part of something and not be dependent on others.

"You are a Took. Did you know that your Great-Great-Great-Great Uncle Bullroarer Took was so large that he could ride a real horse?"

Prim laughed and nodded, "That story has been passed down for generations!"

"Well he could!" Gandalf said heatedly, knowing Prim didn't believe those stories in the least, "In the Battle of Greenfield, he charged the Goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard, he knocked the Goblin King's head clean off and it sailed a hundred yards and went down a rabbit hole. And thus the battle was won," his stern face broke into a smile, "and the game of golf invented at the same time."

"I do believe you made that last bit up." Prim accused lightly.

"Well, all good stories deserve embellishment." Gandalf laughed before looking at Prim with a serious that made her smile disappear, "You'll have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back."

Primrose sighed and took another drink of her tea and after staring at the half empty cup, she looked up, "Can you promise me that I will come back?"

Gandalf shook his head solemnly, "No, and if you do you will not be the same."

Her conversation with Gandalf was the last she held with any of her house guests before she crawled into bed. She wanted to hide her face and cry into her pillow but instead she simply stared up at the ceiling, listening to the noise of the dwarves and contemplating her heart. It scared her that a part of her wanted her to pack a bag and leave with the dwarves that very second. What was even scarier was how strong that desire was and Primrose for the first time wasn't sure what she wanted. Music started to drift through her door, it was solemn sounding but it somehow sounded hopeful. The music built up until Thorin's clear baritone started singing. One by one, more voice joined in on the haunting song that told the story of Thorin's past and how the dragon stole their home away from them.

Blinking, Primrose opened her eyes, blinking against the morning sun that shone in from the window. She smiled and stretched musing over the strange dream she had and debated whether of sleeping for a bit longer. It was tempted but when the realization that the dwarves had not been a dream, had her up and dressed and rushing out of the bedroom quicker than you could say Good Morning. After a quick check of all the rooms she found that everyone had left and by the dirty dishes, they left a couple hours earlier. For some reason, Prim found herself disappointed and the big empty house didn't seem as peaceful as it did lonely. Shaking her sour mood, she went about fixing her own breakfast and moving into the parlor for some light reading before she set on the dreadful task of dishes.

Some time had passed when Primrose had finally looked up from her book to glance at the clock on the mantle only to find it to be blocked by an envelope. Going over and opening it up, she found it to be a note and the contract from the previous night. She scanned through the letter and blinked, "The Green Dragon Inn at eleven?" she asked aloud, her eyes shooting at the clock, "Dear me! It's already ten till!" It seemed seconds had passed and how Primrose found herself dressed in her cousin's clothes, hair tied at the back of her head, a rucksack that had been thrown together, without hat or money or anything else a traveler might need, running through Hobbiton as though her heels were on fire. The only thing she had managed to do with any thought was scribbling out a note for her cousin to find when he returned home.


	2. Of Orcs and Trolls

**Thank you to those of you who have already followed this story. It makes me happy.**

**Remember to comment! As mentioned in the previous chapter, I'm looking for input on whether or not I should add some kind of romance with our heroine. Keep in mind characters who die in the book, will die so I guess keep that in mind.**

**Enjoy!**

Primrose managed to reach Bywater five minutes past eleven and was horrified to find the company of dwarves had already left. After a frantic plea to a stableman, she was sent off rushing down the road with the knowledge she was only five minutes behind them and that they did not seem to be in a hurry. Her heart gladdened when she spotted the tail end of the party of dwarves on horseback, "I made it!" She called out happily in between her heavy breaths. "I made it!" She called out again, finally causing a few of the dwarves to stop and look back. Prim pulled out the contract and waved it in the air, "Here I am! I've signed it!" She came up panting and though smiling, she did not miss the haughty and annoyed glare from Thorin, but she ignored it tactfully and returned Gandalf's smile. Balin was waiting for the contract with an outstretched hand from atop his pony and Primrose was happy to hand the contract over. When the dwarf took out a small eye glass and shot her a wary glance before studying the authenticity of her signature, Primrose was a little angered. What did he expect? She forged a falsity on the contract?

"Well," Balin announce, looking ahead to Thorin with a nod before smiling at Primrose, "Everything seems to be in order. Welcome Miss Primrose Took to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield."

Primrose straightened up and nodded proudly, "Thank-you."

"Get her a pony." Thorin's stern voice called back before urging his pony forward, "Move out."

She had nothing against ponies, Prim never had a negative experience with one and in fact she had been known to sneak one an apple now and then but that was completely different from trusting them. They were large and seemed to be clumsy animals and with feet as big as a hobbit's you'd be wary of anything that might tromp on them or on you for that matter. It didn't help that she had never learned to ride a horse. She forced a light laugh and tugged at her coat as she started walking down the road, "That uh, won't be necessary. Thank-you! I'll be quite able to keep up quite fine. I've gone on a few walking holidays, made it as far as - whoa!" She cried out as two large hands grabbed her under her arms and hoisted her up into the air. Moments later she was sitting stiffly on top of a pony of her own, her hands gripping the reins awkwardly, not very sure what she was supposed to be doing with her hands. "Um, I'm afraid I came ill prepared." She said as her pony came along side Gandalf's horse, tying not to think how high off the ground she was, "I didn't get the message you left until 10:45 to be precise. I forgot to bring any money, a travelling cloak or any handkerchiefs!"

Bofur, the dwarf who had teased her relentlessly the night before about possible horrible ends to her life, turned back to her, "Here use this!" he said tearing of a piece of his tunic and tossed back at her. Prim caught it but stared horrified at the mangled, dirty, smell square of fabric that hung like a dead animal from her fingers. She looked back at Bofur to ask what she was supposed to do with it for he surely couldn't expect her to use it for anything but for wiping horse dung off the bottoms of her shoes, but he had already turned back to the front. She frowned, shoving the offending bit of cloth into her pocket. Chuckling off to her right made her snap her gaze to find Gandalf.

"You'll have to manage without handkerchiefs and a good many other things before you get to the journey's end Miss Primrose Mirabella Took. As for a hat and cloak, I'm sure one of your new companions has a spare in their luggage. Sure enough, as word got around she had no good cloak or hat to protect her from the elements, one was quickly procured for her and she found herself feeling quite silly in it. It was far too large for her small size, while it was true that any cloak that belonged to any of the dwarfs in her company would be large on her, the particular dwarf that had gave her use of his spare was in fact Dwalin who (excluding the frightfully round Bombur) was the biggest one of them. With the hood pulled down, she completely disappeared in its dark green, weather-stained folds. The dwarves all had a bit of a laugh on her account and stuck her nose up at them, and ignored them for a good hour or so. It was Gandalf who broke her out of her disdainful mood by come up beside her again, "I have been thinking that when in the company of strangers, perhaps it would be wisest for you to go by your cousin's family name."

Prim looked at him strangely, "That seems a bit silly, why ever should I? You were spouting out nonsense last night about how I'm a Took and now you don't want me to be one."

The old gray wizard laughed, "Think of it as a little payback for your cousin getting you into this mess in the first place. When all is said and done, you may find it a blessing that everyone is looking for a Baggins and not a Took."

Primrose studied the wizard's face for a moment as if searching for something but eventually shrugged her shoulders, "I suppose that makes sense."

The first day went by pleasantly enough. In fact Prim couldn't be happier listening the dwarves and Gandalf tell stories and sing songs as the road forward all day, excluding the times when they stopped for meals. As far as everyone else, I'm sure the meal breaks were plenty for most but for a hobbit that enjoys all their meals and tea times, it was far from enough stops as far as Prim was concerned but what could she do. She was clearly outnumbered but despite the fewer meals to satisfy her hobbit appetite, by the end of the first day she had decided that maybe this adventure was so bad after all.

Days past and Primrose had to watch sadly as they left the rolling hills of the Shire and then eventually all respectable, decent country where all hopes of inns and kind folks disappeared. They crossed into what the Dwarves called the Lone-lands which was exactly how it sounded, lonely. All signs of decent folk had disappeared and roads steadily became worse until they were little more than a barely worn path. If it were only the bad roads and the lack of settlements, Primrose would have been able to manage a positive outlook but it scenery and weather seemed to grow gloomier the further they went. Every day the sun remained hidden behind clouds and they were lucky to find a dry spot to camp at nights because of the near constant raining. The roads had gotten so muddy that at times they had to dismount and help pull their ponies through the muck. To say the least poor Primrose struggled with the thick mud, her large feet doing nothing but hinder her for when they sunk into the mud, it was near impossible for her to pull them out without enormous difficulty.

There was a small break in the weather one evening that they were camped on the top of a valley, where they a nice spot, sheltered from the wind. After a weary day of traveling in poor weather and once she had a bowl of Bombur's hearty stew, Primrose collapsed on to her bed roll and thanks to her exhaustion, fell right to sleep. Her much needed rest was sadly short-lived for some time later, something that sounded much like a noisy hog brought her out of her slumber. Reluctantly she rose up to find the offending noise to becoming from the large dwarf who had cooked that night's meal. Snoring up a storm.

"What was that?" Prim asked worriedly as she scurried close to the safety of the fire, looking at the alert and gloomy faces of the dwarves.

"Orcs." Kili said darkly, glancing at his brother who sat beside him.

"Orcs?" Prim gasped as she stumbled over her own feet. A jerk of movement out of the corner of her eyes brought her attention onto Thorin who, as uncharacteristic as it seemed for one for stern as him, looked to be brought to attention as even he looked around warily, a hand moving closer to the hilt of his blade. If one as great and as proud as him was afraid then someone as meek as her should be twice as so.

"Throat cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there," added Fili with a grim expression as he gazed out into the distance.

"They strike settlements in the wee small hours of the morning," Kili further enlightened, "No screams...just lots of blood." The young dwarf shuddered and then turned and looked at his brother once Prim had turned her terrified gaze from them, and the two brothers shared a humorous look and fought back laughter.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin asked sternly as he turned and started walking towards them. "You think a late night raid by orcs is a joke?"

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili reasoned apologetically glances away from his uncle's harsh gaze.

"No you didn't." Thorin said harshly before turning and walking over to edge of the cliff they had camped on. Gazing out into the moonlit valley below, leaving Kili beaten up about angering Thorin.

Balin stopped leaning on the rock he had been smoking by and came further into the light of the fire, "Don't mind him laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate the orcs." He gave the put out dwarf a consoling smile before look at the brooding figure of their leader.

That night, Primrose heard the story of Thorin Oakenshield and the white orc Azog and fell asleep with a deeper respect for the Dwarf Prince.

The next day the dwarves never seemed to turn to check on her though by the way some would often turn an ear in her direction, Primrose guessed that the most of her companions did wonder how she was fairing but some force (not mentioning any Dwarf Prince) was keeping them from turning back and asking. She couldn't help but glare up to the front of their little caravan where their noble leader. There was no doubt in our little hobbit's mind that Thorin was making a big joke out of her and that he was up that laughing at how foolish she looked in her over-sized cloak which was currently soaked through, making her look like some drowned animal. It was true that because of Balin's story the night before, she could understand his serious demeanor but it did not excuse him from his treatment of her. Prim's mood (and her glaring) didn't stop until the rain decided to stop, which she had guessed was sometime in the late evening because how dark it had gotten. They ended up stopping in a deep valley after crossing a questionably stable bridge that appeared to be older than Gandalf, near what looked to be the remnants of an old farm building. Speaking of the wizard, it was when they stopped for evening that they realized he was missing. Despite Prim's worries and frantic questioning, the dwarves didn't seem worried about his disappearance, in fact Fili and Kili laughed at her.

That night Primrose had her first test of courage and immediately wished she had never left her hole. Gandalf's sudden departure had completely soured her mood but was grateful when Thorin ordered Fili and Kili to watch the ponies before dinner had even started, meaning she was free of their pestering. Primrose had not forgiven them for teasing her about the orcs, so it was a relief she wouldn't have to deal with them. For the first time since the start of their journey, Primrose was ordered to cook their supper, which she was actually pleased to do. She loved cooking and loved cooking for a large group so even though, the options were limited Primrose took great care in making sure everything was perfect. The dwarves seemed to enjoy her cooking and even the proud Thorin couldn't find fault with her cooking. That made Prim quite proud of herself. Eventually she was sent off with two bowls of her vegetable soup to deliver them to the two young dwarves she did not want to see.

When she found them, they were standing close together with their back towards her, staring off into the woods intently. She stopped and cleared her throat but the two brothers seemed clueless to her presence. "Typical," she mumbled with a sigh before walking up beside Fili and followed their gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"Uncle Thorin set us to watch over the ponies." Kili said with a strangely worried tone and since that didn't answer Prim's question, she remained quiet.

"It seems we have run into a bit of a problem." the other continued.

"You see, we started with seventeen ponies and now we only have fifteen," Kili finished worriedly before walking further into the forest before stopping and motioning to a large tree that had been recently uprooted, "and we found that."

Fili nodded as both he and Prim came beside Kili and looked upon the tree and then beyond where there were more similarly disturbed trees. "We thought, you being our official burglar, might have an idea or too about it."

"Well," Primrose squeaked, trying to keep her knees from shaking, "my guess something very very large uprooted those trees." She swallowed the lump in her throat and feigned bravery by sticking her hands in her pockets, "Something large and possibly quite dangerous."

"That's what we were thinking." Fili agreed, nodding his head with a thoughtful expression which Primrose joined in making.

"Look!" Kili's excited voice whispered, his hand popping up to point into the distance, "There's a light! Let's get a better look!" Without waiting, he was off leaving his brother and Prim to trail after.

"Your brother doesn't seem to think things through." Prim mentioned off handedly and received a shrug in response before Fili dashed off to catch up with Kili. Prim meanwhile had to make the decision to leave the two bowls of her tasty soup, or bring them along. Needless to say, Primrose Mirabella Took wasn't about to let her soup get cold on the ground and was off after the brothers, soup in tow.

When Primrose when chasing after the two dwarves in their little quest to discover what happened to their ponies, she wasn't quite sure what they would find but Prim convinced herself it was nothing her companions couldn't handle. A lone horse thief perhaps, or something else Fili and Kili would handle without much incident. You can imagine Prim's surprise when they came across three, incredibly large and extremely ugly trolls. She about fainted right then in there but before she could make heads or tails of the situation, Fili and Kili had somehow managed to agree to steal their ponies back. When she finally regained her senses and turned to argue with them, both dwarves had disappeared leaving her with no choice to give it a shot. "I suppose I did tell them I could do anything any other burglar could...can't imagine it to be too difficult," whispered Prim to herself, as she crept around and over to the crude pin the ponies were in.

It was hopeful thinking and during an attempt to steal a knife from one of the trolls, Primrose found herself in the troll's hand, covered in troll snot. If it was any other day, Prim would have been sick but she was too petrified and shocked to do anything more than stare up into the equally surprised face of the troll. The troll seemed to be convinced that she had come out of his nose and shortly dropped her to the ground once she started wriggling. Her freedom was sadly short lived because after a brief discussion with his fellow trolls, it was decided she was to be eaten, after a brief interrogation. After a short struggle of them trying to catch her (which proved more difficult for the trolls than Prim would have guessed) she was hanging upside down from her legs in the grasp of one of the trolls. After a small and poorly recovered slip of the tongue, Primrose was officially known to the trolls of a Flurbabuur-Hobbit."

"Are there any mores of you hiding where they shouldn't be?" the one dangling her from his hand asked, giving her a good shake.

"Yes!-and none at all!" she flip flopped after realizing it would be better for her chances of survival if the trolls didn't know about the dwarves.

"What do ya mean Yes and none a' all?" they asked, knowing there can't be more and yet not.

"Um," she stuttered her quick mind coming up with an excuse, "There aren't any more of us out here! They're all inside! I got too big and they kicked me out!"

"Inside? There's no settlement near here!" one roared.

"At least none that 'as anybody livin' innit." chuckled another one.

Prim laughed, "It's been under your nose this whole time...well more like in your nose."

"What!?" the troll who had used her has a pocket handkerchief cried out, grabbing his nose.

"There are millions of us! All crawling around, making our little nests in your insides. Ever wonder why you get headaches, or your stomach gets all queasy feeling?" Prim continued to lie, feeling much more confident seeing their shocked faces. "I may be small in your eyes but my kin are no larger than the eye of a sewing needle, many smaller than that even!" The hand that still had her suddenly shook her violently; bringing Prim out of her knew found confidence.

"You 'spect us to believe all that rubbish?" the troll who was shaking her roared, snapping the other two out of their panic.

"Hold its toes over the fire! Make it squeal!" the dumber sounding one laughed excitedly.

"No-wait!" Primrose begged desperately as she was brought closer to their large fire and the idea of her dying in a few short moments became a likelihood she could no longer deny.

With no warning a figure burst out of the bushes. It was Kili and he was armed with his sword which glinted in the firelight, immediately he sprung at the nearest troll, slashing its legs (which were as high as his sword could reach.) The troll shrieked and stumbled and Kili quickly turned to the rest of the trolls, "Drop her!"

The troll who held Prim turned and looked at him, "Say what?"

"I said drop her!" Kili ordered once more, hand tightening on his blade. The three trolls, (the third recovered from Kili's attach) stood unintimidated by the tiny dwarf and laughed but their laughter soon turned to surprised shrieks when the whole of the dwarves company came charging out of the darkness. The troll that held Prim gave a pained roared as a dwarf sliced his knee and sent Prim flying through the air and right into (or should I say onto) Kili, who when seeing her thrown, dove to catch her. He laughed seeing her blush at her position on top of him, "Told you we were right behind you." Prim bolted up, face red in both embarrassment and outrage and looked about to respond hotly but Kili was already up darting back into the fray of things, calling behind to order her to see to the ponies. Knowing there was more important things to worry about than arguing, Primrose set upon the task of freeing their ponies.

Despite the dwarves' valiant effort, they all, including Prim was bound up to their necks in burlap sacks or if unfortunate, tied to the spit, being turned slowing over a low fire. Those dwarves were lucky the fire was low enough not roast them but it was still mighty uncomfortable for them. Thorin was, not so surprisingly, glaring at Primrose and she glared back, not seeing how she could be at blame for this. The glaring Prim ended shortly when she heard the trolls discussing their need to hurry before the sun rose, which judging by the subtle lightness to the east, would be soon. If she could only stall them..."Wait, wait, you can't do this!"

When the whole affair was over, Primrose was feeling quite relieved with the wizard's perfect timing and glad they were all safe and sound and uninjured. Thorin and Gandalf were out of ear's reach discussing something quietly while the rest of their party was laughing at Prim's role in their survival. Thorin may have not been impressed but the others seemed to know that she had been trying to stall. Fili and Kili even apologized to her, saying that they shouldn't have left her like that, even if it was to go fetch Thorin and the others. Primrose wanted to make them mope some more by not accepting their apology but their sorry expressions caused Prim to laugh merrily and tell them that everything had been forgiven. The truce ended up being short lived for soon, Kili was back to teasing her retelling the story of his dramatic rescue of Prim and how she had turned the most delightful shade of red he had ever seen. She hit him hard on the back of the head for that and Fili laughed merrily. By that time Gandalf and Thorin, who as the norm, shot her a glare. Gandalf on the other hand looked up towards the hills and by his and Thorin's lead, they found the troll hoard. It was nothing more than a horrid cave blocked by makeshift door. The smell of the cave left nothing to the imagination to what had happened in that cave for it smelled of rotting flesh, troll filth and death. The contents however, surprised Prim and a handful of dwarves. It was full of treasures, gold, jewels, weapons, it would have been breathe taking had it not been surrounded by human remains and rotting piles of troll filth. While the dwarves dug a hole to hide a chest of gold and gems, Gandalf and Thorin marveled at some particularly well-crafted swords, leaving Prim to stand awkwardly off to the side and wait for them all to be finished. After a while, the nauseating smell finally got to Prim and she stumbled, a hand coming out to catch her from falling. She managed to save herself from falling on the filthy ground but shrieked when she found her hand resting on a skull, she jerked back and stepped on something foreign on the floor. After a quick examination, Primrose held a small blade. It was strange for Prim to hold onto a weapon, the most dangerous thing she had ever held was a kitchen knife, but strangely it felt right in her hand. Surprising herself with the thought, Primrose quickly went to drop the weapon, not wanting anything to do with it but was stopped by Gandalf.

"It would be wise to keep that; it may come to need it." He said warningly but with a smile on his face.

Prim stuttered, "I-I've never held a blade in my life, I don't suspect I'll be needed one any time soon."

Gandalf sighed and patted Primrose on her head, "It is better if you have it and not use it than need it and not have it. I should hope you will never have to use that blade Primrose, but if you do, remember this: True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one."

Those words echoed in Primrose's thoughts for the next two days but she had no idea how that advice would affect her in the weeks to come.

**I hope you guys enjoyed the latest installment. If you noticed I deviated a bit from both book and film in some spots both because my personal whimsy and tastes and because I wanted a bit more of a compromise between both book and film canons.**

**Remember to let me know in either a comment or PM if you want our fantastic little Primrose to be possibly paired with anyone. Remember to keep in mind of any character deaths, though I have nothing against an angsty end.**


	3. A Chase and a Brief Rest

**I'm back! Sorry, this chapter took a little longer to get posted. Usually, when I post a chapter I already have the next one all typed out, leaving me to only have to proof read it a few times and edit before posting; I only had a small portion done this time. That being said, this chapter may be a little less refined than the previous two but I'm hoping that it will be no less enjoyable. Not wanting to put it off any longer, I only ran it through Word's spell/grammar check, which isn't always reliable. Well I hope the length of this chapter makes up for its tardiness.**

**Enjoy!**

Any hopes of Prim's that they'd have no more excitement for the rest of their journey was quickly dashed. Only an hour had passed since their troll encounter and in that time they had visited the trolls' cave and then quickly the stink and sat down for a nice breakfast. They had only just finished packing everything away when Gandalf alerted them; something was coming...and fast. The sounds of twigs snapping and branches being whipped and crashed through by something speeding through the brush quickly confirmed Gandalf's warning. They all braced for the worst but what came crashing out of the forest was nothing any of them could have guessed. It was a man riding a sled that was being led by a team of large rabbits and shouting all sorts of alarms. Primrose had never seen such a thing nor had the dwarves, judging by their shocked expressions. Gandalf was the sole person who did not look shocked to see the odd sight, he did however look relieved. If Prim and the dwarves had to guess, the two appeared to know each other. "Radaghast," the old gray wizard sighed, confirming their suspicions, "What are you doing here?" By the change in Gandalf's voice, it was obvious this acquaintance of his was the last person he expected to see and he wasn't quite comfortable

"Gandalf, I came looking for you!" Radaghast exclaimed nervously, his eyes large. Prim cringed seeing what looked to be dried bird droppings on the side of his forehead, matting his hair. "I've got something to tell you!"

"Well what is it?" Gandalf asked kindly, though there was an undertone that Prim picked up on that hinted to him not wanting to speak to the man in brown.

"It's-" the brown wizard paused, "I mean to tell you that-" Radaghast paused again, his scraggly eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He stood there with his mouth opening, trying to recover his thought for a long moment, before suddenly stomping his foot and snapping his fingers. "Oh I had it was right there! I had a thought, right there on the tip of my tongue! What was it?" He whined miserably and fumbled and fidgeted then went strangely still. "Oh!" he squeaked, he mouth opened slowly, "It wasn't a thought at all, it was a lil ol' stick insect!" He ended by sticking out his tongue to reveal the long, twig-like body of a stick insect. It crawled further out onto the man's tongue and Prim had to turn away suddenly with the sudden urge to gag. Gandalf, unfazed picked up the bug from Radaghast's tongue and placed it on the brown wizard's waiting hand. "Gandalf, we need to speak about this..." his eyes darted over to the dwarves before returning to Gandalf.

Prim, once recovered from the sight of an insect crawling out of a man's mouth, found herself highly curious to what Radaghast had to tell Gandalf. The two stood a ways off, Radaghast talking expressively about something and Gandalf listening with an intent and thoughtful look, while smoking his pipe. She tried her hardest not to eaves drop but she always could see the pair out of the corner of her eye. It was driving her wide with curiosity. Prim desperately tried to keep herself occupied by listening to the gossip of the dwarves and by reorganizing the contents of her knapsack around but it only gave her an outlet for her antsy-ness. After a while, Prim's need to listen in to the wizards' discussion faded as time went on and the two were still talking to one another. There was still a whispering in her mind that she could probably get close enough to hear but it wasn't worth the effort and she was beginning to wish they would just stop their chattering.

As if answering her plea, a noise sounded off in the nearby distance. A howl.

Primrose jumped and retreated closer to some of her dwarf companions, who were all on guard with weapons drawn. "Was that a wolf? Are there wolves around here?"

Bofur, who was the nearest one towards her, shook his head, "No. That's no wolf..." Another howl sounded and an out sprang one of the most terrifying creatures Prim had ever seen in her entire life. She had thought the same when she encountered the trolls but now, seeing this giant, wolf-like monster, Prim found her wishing that it was a troll again. The dwarves were quick to react and though a second creature appeared, they were able to deal with both without any harm being done to anyone.

"Warg scouts," Thorin growled, pulling his blade out from the head of one of the beasts, "that means an orc pack is not far behind."

"Orc pack?" Prim asked, "What does it mean?"

"It means, Miss Took, we are being hunted." Gandalf growled before storming over to Thorin, "Who else, besides your kin, knows of your quest?"

"No one." Thorin said darkly.

"Who did you tell?" the wizard pressed, his anger surprising Primrose.

"No one! I swear."

The two stared at each other for a short moment, Gandalf looking into to Thorin's eyes as if trying to gain the truth but soon turned away, "We must move. Now."

"We can't." a voice piped out, it was Ori and he was sliding down from an embankment, "The ponies have run off!"

The urgency of the situation increased tenfold and everyone looked for one another for an idea or plan, which none could offer. It didn't need to be said, they all knew the hopelessness that they faces, the certainty of death without their ponies. None could stomach to say otherwise. It was Radaghast, as strange as it sounded to be the first to speak, and it was not of the hopelessness of the situation but of hope and a plan. "I'll lead them off!"

Gandalf huffed, no longer in the mood to put up the brown wizard's oddness, "These are Gundabad wargs, they will out run you."

Radaghast stood up tall and a sly smirk grew on his face and he motioned back at his rabbits, "These are Rhosgobel rabbits, I'd like to see them try."

Everything was a mass of emotions and a blur of color, fear being the strongest of several emotions Prim was currently under the pressure of. Radaghast had kept to his promise and gave the warg-riding orcs something to chase while they made their escape, and while the brown wizard's rabbits could not be out ran by the wargs, they could be matched. In fact, from the glimpses Primrose caught of Radaghast and the pursuing orcs, they were equally matched in speed which forced the wizard to zig-zag and weave in, out and around the massive rocks and boulders that stuck out of the ground. All the dodging and back tracking Radaghast was performing to keep ahead of the wargs was causing quite a bit of a problem for Thorin and Company. They would be just making for the safety of the shadows of another rock formation and the brown wizard would shoot past them, bringing the wargs trailing after him, making the dwarves, Prim and Gandalf scrambling back. In those desperate moments, Prim wasn't the only one thinking that they would have been better off without Radaghast's help.

Eventually, they all found themselves sliding down into a cave that Gandalf had found just in the nick of time. The orcs had been alerted to them after Kili had to dispense of a warg and its rider when it had strayed from the pack and caught their scent. Thankfully, the rest of the pack had been a fair distance off when they heard the last shrieks of their brethren, which gave Prim and the others some precious time to make a run for it. The wargs and orcs caught and had all but surrounded the group. The majority of the pack seemed to be taking their time, making their circle around them gradually smaller, savoring the kill to come. They had been waiting for this moment, Prim could tell by the sounds of their growls and excited, bloody thirsty grin. She had drawn her sword at some point and was standing at the ready as the dwarves were but unlike them, Primrose hadn't the slightest knowledge of how to use her weapon, but her will to survive was as strong as anyone else in their company.

"He's gone! Gandalf's disappeared!"

Everyone looked around, searching for the familiar pointed gray hat but saw nothing.

"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin growled as he brought his hammer down on the head of a warg whose patience had run out.

Prim gave out a throaty gasp as she felt a hand grab the back of her cloak and yank her back hard. She stumbled and regained her footing before looking up, wide eyed at Thorin who had yanked back into the center of the dwarves. "Stay back." he ordered gruffly, never taking his eyes off the orcs and the wargs that accompanied them. Primrose hadn't even realized the others had tightened their formation, leaving her off alone until Thorin had pulled her back. She was glad of it for Thorin had barely enough time to release the back of her cloak when another restless warg bore down on him. The dwarf prince must have seen the attack coming for the warg met with steel instead of dwarf flesh and a few quick, well place strikes; Thorin was ready for the next onslaught.

The number of orcs and wargs who strayed from their own ranks grew until the point where there was always a dwarf matched against one. It wouldn't be much longer until the whole pack came upon them.

"Over here you fools!" a familiar voice called out to them, they all looked to see Gandalf's head popping out of some opening in one of the rocks and cried out in relief.

"Go!" Thorin cried to his kin, urging them to retreat to Gandalf who had managed to find a hidden cave. The cave was more or less a large crack in the rock, mostly hidden from sight. The entrance was sloped so they all had to slide down the rock face to get inside. Gandalf had slid inside almost immediately after alerted them, followed by Bombur then Bofur, who in turn made sure Primrose's landing was as rough as there's had been because of the short drop off just above the cave floor. Kili and Thorin were the last to slide down into the cave and all thirteen dwarves had their weapons aimed at the entrance, expecting the orcs to come sliding in after them. That idea was ideal for the dwarves for the opening to the cave was only large enough for one to slide down at a time, making it easy for the dwarves to kill them but they never got the chance. Thorin had just had time to turn towards the entrance when horns sounded in the distance followed by the surprised grunts and screams of orcs and the thundering of hooves. Above them the sounds of battle were easily heard and it easy to tell who had the upper hand from the cries of orc and warg alike. It was a slaughter and Primrose felt no pity for the orcs and the beasts they rode but she did feel fear for she did not know whether the newcomers were friend or foe.

The battle didn't last for long and had left the dwarves, Gandalf and our little hobbit undisturbed. The only fright they truly had during that time when an orc, who had been shot by arrow, off his warg, fell down into the cave. They had no idea in that moment whether the creature was still alive and if it would spring at them at any moment. That fear was easily calmed after seeing the arrow stuck deeply in its thick neck. Thorin easily recognized the arrow of being elvish and didn't care to hide the grimace as he threw it in disgust. After checking one another for injuries, they were off down a tunnel that Dwalin had found at the back of the cave. The fact that no one besides Gandalf had asked Primrose if she was well had made her spirits quite low, it was true that Thorin did not like her and that could be said for a few of the other dwarves but she thought Fili, Kili and Bofur liked her well enough to be concerned for well-being but they were more concerned about the other dwarves. It drove the nail home for Primrose, like a voice yelling her at that she would never be one of them. They would never worry about her as they did each other, she was no dwarf. She was a hobbit and above that, she was a woman.

It was strange, Prim found herself feeling more light-hearted as moved through the tunnel, which had turned more into a crevice. It was a tight fit and Bombur got stuck on several occasions and had to be pushed and pulled to get unstuck again. The walls on either side reached up towards the sky and opened into a narrow crack which the sun shone down from. The air was surprisingly light for being in such a close space which made their trek more pleasant. Primrose still felt the sting of being so different from her companions, she wanted to go home so badly and knew she should feel down right depressed, but oddly enough, Primrose almost felt happy and relaxed. She figured it had to be the lightness in the breeze, there was something about it that seemed...unnatural but Primrose couldn't find it in herself to be suspicious, so she resigned herself to whatever fate was in store for her.

"Do you feel it?" a voice said from in front of her. It was Gandalf and he was gazing back at her with a curious smile.

She blinked, her mouth fumbled over her words, "Yes! It-it's like nothing I've ever felt...It's almost-it's almost like-" Primrose stopped herself, not wanting to make a fool of herself by saying something silly. Primrose looked up at Gandalf dejectedly but he just smiled knowingly.

"What is it like?"

Primrose sighed, completely flustered and reluctant to speak her thoughts but Gandalf's unjudging smile made her relent, "Well," she said whispering, not wanting to give the dwarves more fuel to tease her, "It-It feels like magic."

Gandalf nodded and looked ahead, "It is magic Primrose Took. A very powerful and very old kind of magic." The breeze picked up at that moment, carrying a soft and unearthly sounding.

"I see an opening ahead!" Dwalin who was in front of them all, his pace quickening.

Soon they all were standing on a cliff that overlooked a beautiful valley, there were trees and glimmering waterfalls cascading all around but what stood out to Prim was the settlement that seemed just as much a part of the valley as the rocks and trees. It was beautiful and the whole valley seemed to glow in the late afternoon sun. Primrose was beside herself and when Gandalf proudly introduced this wonderful places as Rivendell, she about fainted. It was Rivendell, Imladris, the home of elves! Elves. Excitement bubbled out of her in laughter which she quickly covered her mouth in an attempt to keep the laughter in. "Elves!" she burst merrily, "We're going to see elves!" Her joy was soon smothered by Thorin's menacing glare and she shrank back and became silent.

"You led us here on purpose!' Thorin turned and accused Gandalf, "You have brought us into the arms of our enemy!"

"There are no enemies here!" Gandalf shot back, "The only ill will in this valley is that which you bring yourself Thorin Oakenshield!"

"They will try to stop us from our quest!" Thorin muttered darkly, arms crossing his chest stubbornly.

Gandalf chuckled. "Of course they will," Thorin looked at him in mild surprise that he was not denying it but the wizard continued but Thorin could voice any of his thoughts, "but we have questions that need to be answered."

To that Thorin could not argue. The map of the Lonely Mountain held many secrets, secrets that none in their group had the knowledge to find, though he hated to think that help had to come from the beings he despised as much as the dragon. His eyes broke away from Gandalf's and his lips stayed glued shut out of stubbornness and pride.

Gandalf gave Thorin strict instructions on how he was to behave if they wanted to be successful and basically told him to keep his nasty comments to himself and stay silent. Thorin agreed though by the way he avoided looking directly at Gandalf, he was barely holding his tongue now. It was another good half hour before they managed to reach the entrance to the Last Homely House, coming across a narrow and rail-less bridge. Prim marveled how narrow the stone bridge was and wondered how no one ever fell off. She shuddered to think about it, for it was a long way down and there would be no chance of survival if someone lost a footing. They didn't have to stand in the courtyard for very long for a few moments after they crossed the bridge, a lone elf strode down the stairs and stopped just at their foot, his hands crossed behind his back. Gandalf greeted the elf warmly, "Lindir." The elf nodded, and returned the greeting in elvish.

"I must speak to Lord Elrond" Gandalf said kindly.

The elf glanced at the wizard's company before turning his cool glance back to Gandalf, "My Lord Elrond is not here." He did not bother to attempt to even sound helpful and Prim decided that she did not like her first elf encounter.

"And where is Lord Elrond?" Gandalf pressed, though it was obvious the elf was about to dodge his question, the wizard waited with the same pleasant expression on his face. The snobby elf was just opening his mouth when the horns sounded, sounding very similar to the ones they heard earlier with the orcs. The elf shut his mouth and pressed it into a thin line as Gandalf smiled smugly at him with raised eyebrows before turning to see the party of mounted elves coming across the narrow bridge. His smile disappeared seeing the way they flew their banners and how the dwarves took the display as a threat and went on the defensive. Primrose was caught off guard and was left turning around in circles as the dwarves scattering into formation around her.

"Prim!" Bofur called, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the safety of circle of dwarves, "Stay in the middle." About that time the mounted elves were circling around them, leaving the dwarves rotating around trying to keep an eye on them all at the same time. One of the elves brought his steed to a halt and smiled at Gandalf.

"Lord Elrond!" Gandalf greeted the elf lord merrily.

Lord Elrond, an elf who looked deceivingly young but who held such a scholarly air that it left no question to his true age. He was old, he was wise and had seen his fair share of battles but unlike the elf who had first seen them, Elrond had a warm and kind bearing to him.

Gandalf nodded, "Indeed. Where have you been?"

"We were off hunting an orc pack that came down from the south. We slew a number near the hidden pass," the elf lord explained as he rifled through the saddle back on his horse, eventually pulling out a crude dagger. "Strange," he said looked at the dark weapon in his hand, "for orcs to come so near our borders. It appeared they were after something." Elrond looked stared at Gandalf, a frown on his face but with twinkling eyes.

Gandalf chuckled and looked slightly embarrassed, "Ah yes that might have been us." He motioned over to the dwarves who had managed to relax now that the elves had dismounted and were now tending to their horses. Thorin stepped out of the crowd of dwarfs and out into the open, Elrond spotted him.

"Thorin son of Thrain." Elrond greeted the dwarf as he neared him. Thorin gave him a polite but stiff nod in return. The elf studied the prince closely for a moment before speaking, "You have your grandfather's baring. I knew Thror when he was King Under the Mountain."

"Really?" Thorin asked skeptically earning a look from Gandalf, "He made no mention of you."

Dwarf Prince and Elf Lord locked eyes and just when everyone was expecting a fight to begin, Lord Elrond's starting speaking in elvish. His voice was low but strong, laced with what the dwarves took as insult; Primrose seemed to be the only one that still saw that mirthful twinkle in the elf lord's eyes.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" one of the dwarves demanded as he brandished his weapon spurring the others to take up arms once again.

Gandalf was quick to laugh and explained what Lord Elrond had said, telling the dwarves that the elf was offering them food and a place to sleep. Of course, all dwarves were quick to forgive any insults as long as good food and spirits were in great supply, so quickly gave leave to Elrond to show them where dinner was at.

Lindir the uppity elf who had refused to tell Gandalf where Elrond was lead the group to where dinner was about to be served. The dwarves were quick to follow, leaving Gandalf and Lord Elrond to speak leisurely with one another, while Primrose tried not to be too nosy behind them.

"Do you plan to stay long with us?" Lord Elrond asked, his hands gently held behind him. "Or do you intend on leaving as soon as you restock your provisions?"

"I am sure we shall stay a few days at the very least but I cannot say with any certainty. I am not the leader of our merry band; I am merely an advisor of sorts." Gandalf responded lightly.

"Oh Gandalf, you must convince Thorin to stay for at least a few days!" Primrose spurted out only to try to suck the words back in again, turning red with embarrassment when the wizard and elf paused to look back at her. "Oh, pardon me, I didn't mean to interrupt. I-I-"

Gandalf laughed and patted Prim on the head, which the wizard seemed to be making a habit of doing lately, "Do not worry yourself and I will try to speak with Thorin on the matter."

Elrond smiled and nodded, "Gandalf is correct, you are amongst friends here." The two turned back ahead and continued to walk and talk with one another though now they were speaking in elvish. This left Primrose feeling once again feeling dejected and alone, pondering the rudeness of big folk.

Prim soon found herself sitting at a long, low standing table with the dwarves while Lord Elrond and Gandalf sat at a taller section at the head. She couldn't help but think her distance from Gandalf and Elrond had been on purpose for they didn't want her butting into their conversations and the knowledge of that soured her appetite. Not that the table manners of the dwarves didn't do the same. The dinner started out pleasant enough with the elves playing their harps and flutes while they sung beautiful and uplifting songs that Prim didn't understand but enjoyed immensely. Yes, good food, beautiful songs and a pleasant atmosphere meant Primrose couldn't be happier and feeling more at home. She could even manage to tune out the grumbling of the dwarves next to her, who seemed to not be happy with the current menu. Well that was until the dwarves became bored and started throwing food at one another and telling crude joke, at that point Primrose did well enough just to avoid being hit by a dinner roll or flying salads. She found herself creeping away once Bofur climbed up onto the table and began bellowing out a song that sent the dwarves over the edge in their merriment.

Primrose ran into an elf maiden that, Elrond had sent to make sure Prim found her lodging. She followed the elf that was friendly enough but chattered idly about Primrose's strange companions, and quip a few small jokes about the dwarves. Primrose laughed at those joke telling the elf that she had no idea the extent of the crudeness of the dwarves, then again, Prim doubted that she hadn't even seen how bad they could get. The hobbit was ecstatic to find that she had been given a room of her own. "Oh this is just beautiful!" she gushed as she fluttered here and there, marveling the craftsmanship of the room. Her eyes landed on the bed and lost her breathe as tears formed in her eyes.

"My dear, whatever is the matter?" the elf maiden fretted, placing a pale hand on Prim's shoulder, "Is something not to your liking?"

Primrose let out a laugh and shook her head smiling, though tears spilled from her eyes, "I never thought I'd be so happy to see a proper bed again!" She wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand and turned to the elf, "I just want to fall right into it but I don't want to mess it up."

The elf maiden laughed a laugh that sounded like spring, her blue eyes full of understanding, "Do not fret, you have had a long and tiresome journey and had to make due with very little. You must be exhausted."

"You have no idea," Prim sighed, "I haven't even had a proper handkerchief since I left the Shire, it's been terrible. Can you imagine having to use your sleeve when your nose decides to run?" Primrose shuddered dramatically causing the elf to laugh.

"It sounds you may be wishing for a bath before you retire?" the elf asked though both she and Prim knew that it went without saying.

Prim placed a hand over her heart and acted as though she were about to faint, "Dear me! A real bath? With hot water and soup?" She smiled and nodded, "I would be delighted."

It took some time for a bath to be prepared but once it was, Prim found herself unable to contain her excitement and her new friend seemed to truly be happy for her. Once the water had cooled enough to not burn the skin, the elf poured some bath oils into the water and stood up. "There are two bottles beside the tub, the one on the left is a soup and the one of the left is for you hair, once it's been washed. Would you like some help washing?"

Prim smiled but shook her head, "Please don't trouble you. You have been more than kind and helpful and I cannot express my thanks enough, I have felt more welcomed here than I have ever felt with those I came with. I haven't had such a pleasant conversation since I left and I couldn't be more grateful to you."

"I have enjoyed our time together and it has been no trouble at all. Besides," the elf said brightly, "it is not every day we have a hobbit within our halls, I wouldn't miss the chance to speak with one, especially with one who is as pleasant as you." She paused. "I could stay if you would like the company; you seem to need a willing ear. I am quite interested in your story."

Primrose laughed, "I do not think it is much of a story but I should think I would very much like the company. Thank-you."

"-and there I was, completely covered, head to toe, in troll snot! I don't know who was more surprised, me or the troll!" Prim exclaimed before breaking out into a hearty laugh, "We just stared at each other, neither knowing exactly what to think!"

"My word, you must have been utterly terrified!" her friend gasped with a soft laugh of her own as she worked on Primrose's hair.

"Oh dear me, yes! I was absolutely terrified." Prim said as her laughing fit calmed, "Thinking back, I can't believe I made it out alive. I was sure I was going to be dinner for sure." It was then that her eyes jolted wide and she squeaked, "Oh forgive me!"

The elf maiden blinked and smiled, "Forgive you? Why my dear Primrose, whatever for?"

"You must think me terribly rude! You have been so kind and gave up your evening for my sake and I haven't even gotten your name! Oh how could I be so rude?" Primrose felt so ashamed of herself and so horrified that she had forgotten her manners. How could she just forget about introductions? "I don't know what got into me; my mother did not bring me up so poorly. Please forgive me."

The elf laughed softly and placed hands one Primrose's shoulders to ease her back into her seat, "Calm yourself little one. I took no offense; all is still well between us."

Primrose moaned as the elf resumed her work on the hobbit's hair, "Oh but it is just so unlike me."

"I am as much as fault as you, for being your hostess, it was my duty to introduce myself upon our meeting. So let's both put it to rest for it is never too late for introductions. I am the Lady Arwen"

"Lady?" Primrose breathed turning back to look at Arwen who just smiled and nodded.

"Yes, my father is Lord Elrond." Arwen's smile turned up slyly, her blue eyes sparkling, "See how naughty I've been?"

Primrose's mouth opened up into an O as she stared mortified. "Oh my behavior has indeed been most unacceptable! Oh! I had you make my bath! Oh! And you had to listen to me talk of troll-Oh I mustn't mention it again!"

Arwen placed a finger on Prim's lips to silence them, "Hush now," she ordered kindly, "You did nothing of the sort. Besides, I didn't make your bath, I only oversaw the preparations. You are a guest here and it is my duty to see to your comfort as I deem fit. I did nothing that I did that I did not wish to do so do not blame yourself. Do not think you must treat me differently, either." Arwen gently forced Prim's head back around to the front, "Now, hold still and let me finish your hair."

It was strange for Prim to let Lady Arwen do her hair, it felt wrong but each time she tried to say something, Arwen stopped her and told her that she could do what she liked. It was true, Prim admitted, if doing her hair pleased Lady Arwen, she should get in the way of that, so she resigned herself to getting her hair done by Lord Elrond's daughter. It seemed as though Lady Arwen's kindness knew no ends for once she had finished with Prim's hair and left the room, she came back with a small bundle. "Go on," the Arwen urged, handing it to Prim, "I am not sure the fit but I thought that you might like something to wear while you are here."

Prim's fingered the material lovingly, at a loss to what to say. It was a dress, an elvish dress for her and it was beautiful. It was a pale green dress, embroidered with gold threads. "It is far too fine of dress for me." Prim said rather sadly as she when to hand it back to Arwen, "I can't accept this."

"Of course you can and you will look beautiful in it. Go on and try it on, I would like to see it before I leave. There's a screen over there, if you'd like to change in private." she pushed the dress back toward Prim and waved her off toward a corner where the screen waited. Sighing, Prim took the dress and went behind the screen. Arwen laughed as she took a seat, "That was not so hard was it? There is also a sheath for you as well. I'm afraid the fit may be wrong, we had to alter a dress that had already been made for a child." The sounds of rustling cloth stopped after a while and there was still no word from Prim and she had yet to appear out from behind the screen. Arwen frowned, "Is anything the matter? Is the fit wrong?" Her fine elf ears could pick up the sound of muffled sobs coming from behind the screen, so she rose from her seat and swept over and around the screen to find Primrose in tears. Kneeling, she pulled the hobbit into a caring hug, "My dear little flower, whatever is the matter? Why such tears? It looks beautiful on you."

"Oh I don't deserve this!" Primrose choked out between her sobs, "I-It's too good for the likes of me. I put it to shame! It should be on far fairer a creature than I." An elf child or at the very least, someone who has not been living in filth with dwarves, she thought to herself but didn't speak aloud. It scared her how much she loved the dress but how disgusted she felt with herself while wearing it. She was no fair maiden and that was what the dress was suited for. Perhaps once, before she allowed herself to be swept off with the idea of adventure, if she was still safe at home in the Shire, Primrose would have worn the dress like a banner. Now the dress reminded her how low she had sunk and how much she missed civilized living.

"Primrose." Arwen's surprisingly stern voice snapped her out of dark thoughts, she look up into the elf's wise face. "Primrose, you must listen to me, you must not think so poorly of yourself." Arwen further surprised the hobbit back shaking her gently, as if she was trying to shake reason into her small body. "Think of all you have accomplished! You fought trolls-"

"I never fought them, Thorin and the dwarves did all the fighting...I only got myself caught and caused trouble for everyone. I was utterly useless; all I could do was buy time." Prim whimpered.

"Precisely! When death seemed certain for all of you, Primrose, you were the only one that did something! You had the nerve and face your wits against those of the trolls. If it were not for your actions, you and the dwarves would have been dead before the sun rose."

"It was my fault the dwarves were captured...if I had been a better burglar-" Prim started only to be interrupted by Arwen.

"You did not choose to go after those ponies; it was not your decision." Arwen smiled and wiped the tears from Prim's cheeks with a handkerchief, "You are destined for great things, Primrose Took. Do not fear the road ahead and be proud of who you are and who you will become by your journey's end."

When Primrose woke the next morning, she felt like a new hobbit. She dressed in the dress Lady Arwen had given her the night before and found that it did fit her indeed and she was felt empowered in it. She had earned the dress; she faced trolls, escaped orcs and wargs so Prim deserved something nice. As she walked down to breakfast, Primrose was hoping that Arwen would be there but found her nowhere to be seen, though Lord Elrond was and he smiled at her with a small nod of his head. He was sitting with Gandalf and she was surprised to find Thorin sitting with them as well. It came to an even larger surprise to her when Gandalf waved her over, "Ah Primrose, you are looking quite refreshed this morning. Come join us."

She smiled, "Good morning, I am feeling much more myself this morning. Thank you for asking." Thorin made snorted and both Primrose and Gandalf shot him a glare before Primrose turned to Lord Elrond with a pleasant smile, "Lord Elrond, I want to thank you for the hospitality you have shown me."

Elrond smiled, "You are most welcome Miss Took. I take it you slept comfortably last night?"

"I did, it was most rejuvenating. It was the best sleep I've had in what seems like ages. -And please, call me Primrose."

"I am most glad to hear it. I see you have found some new clothes," Elrond mentioned, motioning to her dress.

"Oh yes! I had the pleasure of meeting the Lady Arwen after I left last night."

Lord Elrond raised his eyebrows in surprise for he had requested Arwen to stay in her quarters while their guests were here, "Indeed?"

"Lord Elrond, your daughter is a wealth of kindness. I have never, in all my years, had the pleasure of meeting someone as generous and as warm as Lady Arwen." Primrose smiled and watched as the elf lord seemed to swell with pride.

"Thank you Primrose, it warms my heart to hear her praise. Tell me, did you speak with my daughter long?"

"Oh yes, she refused to leave my side until I was tucked into my bed." Primrose frowned, "I must apologize Lord Elrond, I'm afraid I have abused your daughter in some way." Prim saw a flash in the elf's eyes and she quickly continued, "You see, I did not know who she was when she offered to show me to my room. She had simply told me, that you had sent her to show me to my room. The next thing Prim knew, she was seeing to my bath and braiding my hair and only when I realized I failed introduce myself properly, that she told me who she was. I-I would have never-" She stopped her little rant when Elrond held up a hand to silence her and instead of the scolding she had expected, he laughed.

"That sounds much like my daughter. There is nothing to forgive and I am certain she has told you that as well, has she not?"

"She has."

Elrond nodded, "Then that is the end of it and think no further of it."

"I believe we have gotten off subject..." Thorin's gruff voice interrupted, instantly bringing down the mood.

Elrond glared disapprovingly at the rude dwarf prince as he leaned back in his seat and Gandalf cleared his throat and nodded, "Yes, Thorin, I believe we have. Our apologies. I believe there will be another time for you to chat with Lord Elrond later."

Elrond turned and smiled at Primrose, "Indeed, we will speak later, if you wish." He turned back towards Gandalf and Thorin, "Well, you spoke of an artifact that you wished me to look?"

Gandalf nodded, "Yes, you still study ancient dwarvish runes, do you not?"

"I do, do you have the item now?"

"Thorin, give Lord Elrond the map."

Thorin glanced at Primrose, "Do you not think it wise for us to discuss this in private?"

Gandalf huffed, "Now see here, the matter with Miss Took has already been settled, you agreed to trust my judgment when I chose her. Now give Lord Elrond the map." Primrose smiled smugly, eyes locked on Thorin, daring him to argue further as she relaxed against the back of her chair. She was only slightly disappointed when Thorin refused to match her gaze or to argue further, but she supposed it was for the best. Fighting and sending glares to one another would not help things, it would only cause their dislike for each other to grow and make the rest of their journey more difficult. Thorin reached inside his tunic and pulled out a folded piece of parchment, which Primrose immediately recognized as the map, and handed it over to Elrond.

The elf lord's expression had darkened since the mention of a map, his mouth tightening into a tense frown once he opened the parchment. His dark eyes darted over to Thorin then to Gandalf, "What is your interest in the contents of this map?"

Thorin opened his mouth to speak, his eyes already speaking what his mouth was about to, but thankfully Gandalf beat him to the punch. "It's purely academical, I assure you. It is a treasured artifact that is most dear and sentimental to Thorin, since it was left to him from his father. He wishes to show the future generations of the descendants of Erebor a bit of their heritage. Both he and I sensed there was more to this artifact than what meets the eye and when he asked for my advice, I advised him to come speak with you. After all, these artifacts usually contain some form of hidden text and I recalled you being an expert on the subject." He ended with a sincere smile that gave no hint that what he had said was a lie which left Primrose wondering of other things Gandalf could have gotten away with in the past. Tricky wizard.

Dark, far seeing elf eyes searched Gandalf's seemingly innocent face for any tells but saw nothing but honesty, though his gut said otherwise. Knowing that there was nothing to be done but play along with Gandalf's scheming, Elrond sighed and refolded the map carefully. "I will see what I can find; it may take some time for me to decipher its secrets." Sliding the paper carefully into the folds of his robes, he stood up. As he did so, he noticed how Thorin jumped as if he was about to attack, he didn't doubt the dwarf would have done so had Gandalf not placed a hand on his arm. It wasn't until the wizard whispered warnings about patience did the foolish dwarf reclaiming his seat. "Come to my study after dinner this evening, I believe I should have the answers you seek by then." He turned to Primrose, "Miss Took, should you wish to speak with me again, you only need ask." He bowed his head politely before doing the same to Gandalf before leaving. Thorin received no such courtesy.

Primrose spent the rest of her day in sublime idleness and did nothing but amble here and there, admiring the architecture and natural beauty of Rivendell. She had until after supper to enjoy herself until she had to face frigid breeze that emanated from her least favorite dwarf and Primrose was determined to take full advantage of her free time. Being able to explore Rivendell was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Primrose had always read about the elves in books and heard of them in stories but it was nothing compared to seeing it firsthand. "Oh when ol' Bilbo hears of this!" That was a line she found herself whispering to herself excitedly as she imaged her cousin's face when she told him of her adventures. Maybe she would have him put it all down in a book for her...imagine: _The Adventures of Primrose Mirabella Took. _That sounded divine and it would be a way to rub it in Bilbo's face without being too direct. The culture of the elves seemed strange and yet wonderful at the same time, everyone shared the work evenly with little to no gender divide. In the stables, both elf men and elf maidens tended to the horses with the same care and devotion, each doing their fair share of the work. Everyone worked in the gardens and there were tailors and craftsmen, all tall and terribly beautiful. She did notice that there were certain jobs that more men preferred over the women and vice versa but it seemed it was due to individual preferences, not gender roles.

Unfortunately, the sun seemed to run its course through the sky quicker than what Primrose wished for and it was suddenly time for dinner before she realized. To make matters worse, it seemed the dwarves would be her only company during her meal and much like the night before they were rowdy and loud. Primrose cursed to herself spying the only empty place was near Thorin, the fact that Balin, Dwalin and Bofur were situated around her was little consolation. It had probably been just her imagination but it seemed everyone stopped what they were doing to watch her take her seat by Thorin. The dwarves further down resumed their meal and their stories quickly enough but the air seemed suffocating where she sat. "Have you all been enjoying yourselves? I haven't seen many of you around today." She asked, desperate for something besides the strained silence.

"Aye, well enough I suppose. The elves are a little stuffy for are tastes, they all walk about as if they were at a funeral," Bofur offered, laughing as though it was an inside joke, which Primrose didn't doubt.

"Perhaps they could appear a little stuffy but they are the wise. Did you all find your rooms as pleasant I did mine? I have never witnessed such hospitality and generosity."

"Yes, the elves have been very hospitable though we all chose to sleep beneath the stars" Balin replied simply and without garnishes. Short and to the point and with little eye contact which left Primrose struggling to keep things going.

"Oh," she spoke softly, "Did they not offer you rooms?"

Balin smiled, "They offered but we prefer our own company." He said it kindly enough with no foul undertones, which Thorin had decided to, add him.

"We need no soft comforts the elves would offer, nor do we want what they offer under the guise of their so-called good-will and friendship. We must rely on no one but ourselves." Those were Thorin's exact words yet Primrose heard what he truly spoke, "You are not one of us, nor will you ever be welcomed amongst us. You should just remain behind and be a bother to us no more."

She could feel the sting of the sharpness of his words and their true meaning and Primrose found it struck at her heart closer than she had expected. There was no reason why, Thorin's cold words should hurt so much, he had remained steadfast in his hatred since the start of things. She knew that he would not change but that didn't stop a small seed of hope from taking root inside her heart. "Your knack for pleasant conversations never ceases to amaze me, Master Thorin." Primrose smiled through her teeth, lacing her words with the same amount of contempt Thorin had but with a much pleasant tone so that if people had no knowledge of their rocky relationship, it would sound like a compliment. "Your refreshing presence always leaves a mark on the atmosphere in a room." She turned and smiled pleasantly to Balin, "Balin, would you be kind enough to pass the jam. Thank you." A jolt of joy rushed her system when she saw Thorin's hands tense up into fists on the table but kept her expression perfectly neutral as she accepted the little jar of jam from Balin. Balin looked uneasy as his eyes darted between her and his leader, his brother Dwalin turning red in the face. Speaking of which, the dwarven strongman slammed a fist on the table with such ferocity that made the tableware leap up on the table and land again with a clatter. Primrose tried not to jump but she did anyways.

"Who do ye think y'are speakin to?" Dwalin growled, the large veins in his forehead bulged in anger. The other dwarves nervously fidgeting in their seats, a few elves even appeared from adjoining rooms, curious about the din, poked their heads out.

"I'm speaking to our noble leader, of course." There comes a time in every hobbit's life that you have to take a stand for yourself, despite proper etiquette and it was high time Primrose stopped being a meek little mouse. She was tired and fed up with Thorin's attitude and she wasn't going let herself get bullied despite the urge to cower. Primrose stuck her nose up in the air and looked at him haughtily as she calmly spread some jam on a piece of toast. "We were discussing our different views on the hospitality of our fine hosts and I just expressed to Thorin how much I love our little talks."

Dwalin stood up and towered over her and Primrose did all in her power to retain her serene appearance kept her eyes set on her breakfast. When Prim went to take a bite of her toast, Dwalin, with a swipe with his massive hand, sent it flying across the room and up against the wall, jam side up. To say Prim was surprised was an understatement and in fact she was so startled that she found herself unable to do anything but stare at the wall where the toast hit. She wasn't quite sure if it was just in her head, but Prim found her nose tingling as if maybe the swipe might have grazed it and that made her all the more fearful. Dwalin had may as well struck her and the fact that one of her own company, had done so, made her afraid for her safety. After all, how could she trust her life to a group who might strike her themselves? No, there was no safety here among dwarves.

"You should learn who yer betters are, little hobbit." Dwalin warned viciously, jabbing the air in front of Prim with a thick finger as if trying to drive the point in. All poor Prim could manage was to stare up at the burly dwarf, eyes large as saucers and heart beating faster than a jack rabbit. It felt as though her heart was going to either jump out of her throat or would stop beating all together from the strain. Honestly it was quite painful, of course it didn't help that Prim's lungs had frozen in fear and the poor hobbitess hadn't the strength nor mind to order it to work. Dwalin balled his hand into a fist and displayed it as what it was, a weapon capable of pummeling a hobbit into jelly. "Keep up yer attitude and someone will haf'te fix it-"

"Enough Dwalin." Thorin's authoritive voice commanded soft yet firmly, causing Dwalin to sneer and take a step away from the petrified hobbit with a grunt. Commander locked eyes with his lieutenant before they found their way to Prim. "Primrose."

The sound of her name snapped her brain back to life, which in turned ordered her lungs to suck in air. Her eyes, still large, flashed to the dwarf who said her name and was surprised to see something akin to kindness in Thorin's normally cold eyes. She blinked several times and shook her head, his mouth had moved again but their sounds didn't quite reach her brain. "Huh?"

"I asked if you were alright." Thorin repeated; the sympathy and softness in his voice confusing Primrose more than what her scattered brain could handle in its current state.

There was no ignoring the eyes, dwarf and elf alike, boring into her. Judging her. Too many of them, to many to cope with. Her face went hot and undoubtedly red while a thin veil of sweat broke out onto her brow. The sight of Thorin slowly rising from his chair, eyes locked on her trembling form sent Primrose over the edge and the tears started to well in her eyes. Her mouth started to spasm in some twisted sort of smile, its corners flickering up and down in a constant battle between frown and smile as she just rose quickly to her feet, her chair falling backwards. The sound of the chair hitting the ground made everyone jump and the reaction made Prim flush with embarrassment. "Oh, yes. Quite." Thorin's mouth went to open but Prim stumbled back and put a hand up to stop him, her breaths coming out in short little gasps, "its fine. I-I'm fine. I-I'm-I'm- I just- I just" The words "need to be alone" were barely heard as she darted off, the ends of her skirts disappearing around the corner before anyone could do anything.

Thorin sank back into his chair, expression dark as he stared into space. A deep, disappointed sigh from Balin drew his attention. "It seems," the white haired dwarf said, "we have lost our burglar."

"Aye," Bofur agreed, pulling his hat from his head, scratching the shaggy brown hair beneath it, "and who can blame 'er."

Despite what he may have wanted, Thorin could not deny that outcome did not bode well for their mission and he could not deny his share of the fault and for once during the journey, the proud prince felt the ugly clawing of guilt in his chest. Looking back, there had been no reason, except for his own stubbornness, for him to treat their burglar so poorly. He still felt that she didn't belong there but there was no reason to treat her with such disrespect. He should have known better but now it was too late to remedy his mistake.

When Thorin found himself in Lord Elrond's chamber, he was not expecting to see the hobbit there but there she was, standing with her back towards the door as she perused the books on Elrond's bookshelves. He noticed that she didn't look at him or Balin when they came in, though by the slight turn of her head, Thorin knew that she was aware of them coming in. It could have been no one else for Gandalf, Elrond and even Lindr were already conversing quietly together. The two elves and one wizard did turn to acknowledge their arrival. Elrond and Lindr said nothing, only gave small, barely there nods of their heads, mouths set into frowns. It was plain to see, word had reached them of what happened over supper. Gandalf was the first to speak and from his overly pleasant and expressive greeting, Thorin knew he had also known, "Now that we are all here we may get down to business," he eyes flickered over to Primrose, "that is if we are all ready.

Primrose slowly turned from the shelves, her muted blue eyes and gave a serious tight lipped nod to Gandalf and looked toward Elrond, who seemed to share a glance with the old wizard. Lord Elrond then turned to Thorin, "Are you and Balin ready to hear my findings?"

"We are." Thorin responded, his eyes waiting for some sort of emotion from Primrose but her face remained flat and void of emotion and her usually bright and sparkling eyes, dim. How she seemed to be a totally different being. Usually, even when angry and too stubborn to acknowledge, Primrose's eyes always held a spark that showed her true feelings. Even her golden hair's natural ringlets seemed to have lost their bounce and sheen. It was if all fight had left her and was replaced with dark brooding thoughts.

"It seems your instincts were correct about the map," Elrond said, bringing Thorin back to the matters at hand. The elf lord had the map spread out on his desk, Gandalf and Prim had already gathered round and he paused until the dwarves came forward. "It appears the map contains hidden moon runes, they were particularly difficult to find but not impossible."

Gandalf smiled and nodded, "Ah yes! Moon runes, of course. Do you perhaps know what they say?"

"No." Elrond said flatly, as he straightened his back and started slowly pacing. "Unfortunately moon runes cannot be so simply read. The circumstances must be exactly the same as when the runes were inscribed. The time of year and moon cycle must be identical. These particular runes were crafted under a crescent shaped, mid-summer moon over 300 years ago..."

There was no stopping his shoulders from slumping as Thorin listened to the glum news. It seemed as though fate was against him for it seemed hopeless. Balin shook his head, bringing the attention to him. "So that's that then? With no idea of when the map was forged and the moon runes set into place, we cannot learn their secrets?"

Elrond smiled and stopped pacing to look at the aged dwarf, "Not entirely my good dwarf. You are in luck; you have not missed your window. In fact," he paused and smiled at Thorin," Luck shines down on you Thorin Oakenshield for the same moon shines on us this very night."

Primrose wasn't sure why she bothered coming, she didn't want to be here and she was quite certain that nothing that the map contained had anything to do with her. But Gandalf wanted her there and Primrose told herself that was enough. She had signed the blasted contract and had given Gandalf her word that she would do this and her honor depended on her keeping to her word. Confound her blasted hobbit sensibilities. Thorin or no Thorin, it was her duty as burglar to learn what the map had to say and give her input if asked but Primrose didn't have to acknowledge any of the dwarves, prince or no, unless she had to. Thorin and Balin remained invisible even as Elrond led them out of his study, outside, then up a tall staircase until they entered a large room that had been carved into the cliff. The entire back side of the room was completely open to the night air, with a small platform stretched out beyond the cliff's edge. On the very edge of the crop out, stood a large silvery crystal that appeared to have grown straight out of the rock. Its top had been cut into a flat surface which Elrond walked over too. The floor was the room had been carved out of the virgin rock and had an intricate designed carved deep enough where water flowed around the room before falling in silver streams off the edge. The moon light caused the whole chamber to glow and Prim gasped at its beauty. The small airy sound the hobbit suddenly made drew the attention of Thorin to her and he was happy that her eyes were alive again and sparkling in the night.

A beam of moon light shimmered and struck down onto the crystal causing it glow in a way that, to Prim, seemed too beautiful to be natural but considering how deeply set the crystal was into the rock, it had to be. Once the crystal became full lit with the blue light, Elrond strode over to it and places the map down on the flat top of the crystal's surface. Not even a moment later, the paper shimmered and rippled as runes made of moonlight appeared on the page, elicitating a quiet gasp from Prim and even a sharp intake of air from Thorin as he tensed with excitement.

Clearing his throat, Elrond began reciting what the ancient dwarven moon runes said, "Stand at the gray stone when the thrush knocks and the last light of Durin's Day shines upon the keyhole." He paused, he brows furrowing as he placed the pieced together.

The suspicion that had been growing about Gandalf and Thorin's true goal seemed to be finally making themselves known, "Durin's Day?"

Gandalf tried to give the two dwarves in the room a glance that told them to calm themselves but they paid no notice, leaving the old wizard to turn his smiling gaze back to the elf lord. "Ah yes, it marks the dwarven New Year. It's when the last moon of summer and the first sun of autumn meet together in the sky."

"Durin's Day is coming quickly upon us." Thorin said looking to Balin, whose hand came to grip on Thorin's upper arm.

"We still have time!" the old dwarf exclaimed urgently, "We have to stand at exactly the right place at precisely the right time. Then, only then will the door be opened!"

Elrond clasped his hands behind his back angrily and glared at the dwarves after giving Gandalf a disappointed glance, "So this is your true purpose then, you intend to enter the mountain." The elf was angry and was pacing slowly around the room, his eyes moving from one to another. Primrose tried to shrink away from Elrond's gaze as it passed over her but much to her relief it didn't seem to hold the same malice or disappointment as it held for the others. She let out a quiet sigh of relief when the anger in Elrond's eyes faded to frustration.

"It is our right." Thorin said firmly, his eyes meeting Elrond's, "Too long has the dragon Smaug sat comfortably on the bones of my people, too long has he kept our home from us. You cannot deny us this chance."

Letting out a huge sigh, Elrond forced a weak, sad smile, "No, I cannot but I can strongly advise against it. This is a foolish quest and let it be said now that I am against it and I advise you to turn back from this foolishness before it's too late."

The gathering came to an end quickly after that point for Thorin refused to see any reason in Elrond's words, though Prim saw plenty and agreed with the elf's reasoning, though she didn't voice her opinions. After all, the thoughts of some poor hobbitess from the Shire didn't matter. Gandalf had attempted to get her included on the discussion but Primrose simply said, "I see valid points on both sides." which left Gandalf muttering something about 'women.' She made sure she left ahead of the others when Elrond decided it was a lost cause trying to get dwarves to see reason. Primrose wasn't going to allow herself to get stuck in an awkward situation if either Balin or Thorin confronted her about what happened at dinner. As far as she was concerned, she was done trying to be accepted by them; she was obligated by contract and her own personal morals to stick to the quest but as of then, Primrose wasn't going to converse with the dwarves unless it was 'official burglar business.' With that set into stone in her mind, Primrose left both dwarves, wizard and elves far behind and didn't stop moving until she was in her room.

She had cried herself to sleep that night again, they were silent tears but they did their job in making her heart a little lighter feeling and making her pillow damp. When she awoke to the morning sun sending it's golden rays into her bedroom room window, Primrose greeted it was a smile. It was a beautiful day in Imladris Prim was determined to enjoy the sights, sounds and the general aura of the place that seemed to set her heart at peace. Thankfully, she had woken before any of the dwarves so she was able to eat in peaceful solitude and scamper off before any joined her. By late-morning, she had nearly forgotten the incident at dinner the previous night but her heart remained loyal to her decision to keep her relationship with the dwarves strictly professional and not attempt to improve their opinion of her. She would be courteous and polite but nothing more. Gandalf will have to be her only companion that she would speak openly with, but considering how he seems to come and go when he pleased, Primrose didn't think the wizard would make for a consistent source of friendly conversations.

Prim was leaning on a railing, staring out into the landscape when she felt a presence come up beside her. It was Lord Elrond and Primrose did her best not to openly stare at him as he adopted a similarly relaxed pose as he rested his elbows on the railing and leaned against it. She bowed her head politely, "Lord Elrond." The elf lord smiled and bowed his head in return as he turned his gaze out to the view of his vast home. The two stood in a comfortable silence, both enjoying the view and the pleasant sounds of birds and elves singing.

After a long moment, Elrond finally spoke, "I am surprised to see you are not with your companions." It was obvious in the tone of his voice however, that he was not surprised in the least.

"Ah, well I shan't be missed," she said with a little laugh and a small shrug of her shoulders, her forget-me-not eyes looking up at the elf with sad humor. "To be honest, most of them don't think I should be on this journey." When she saw the calculating eyes of Elrond looking back at her with a strange intensity, Prim had to do her best not the blush but she had not control over the brief furrowing of her brows in confusion before she averted her eyes back to the view, hoping he would stop staring at her like she was an oddity.

"Indeed" he stated simply, turning his attention back ahead, eyes taking their time surveying his home below. Prim had frowned at his simple remark and how it hinted that he felt the same as the dwarves. She hated it. Elrond's voice broke Prim out of her thoughts again, "I have heard that hobbits are remarkably resilient." The statement earned him a surprised look from Primrose, who had obviously never heard of that and he let out a kind chuckle as he straightened himself up.

"Really?" she asked a little skeptically getting a nod in response from Elrond.

"I have also heard they are quite fond of the comforts of home," added the elf lord, with a knowing smiling and an almost mischievous sparkle in his dark eyes.

The hobbit let out a tinkling chuckle as she leaned in toward Elrond as if she had a secret to tell, "Well I have heard it is not wise to seek counsel with elves, for they will answer both 'yes' and 'no'."

Elrond gave a soft laugh before placing a hand on Primrose's shoulder, and looked down at her with a soft smile, "You are welcome to stay, if that is your wish." With that, the elf gave a shallow bow of his head and turned and departed, leaving Primrose torn. During her short time here, Prim had come to love Rivendell to the point she could almost say she was more fond of it than her own dear Shire. It felt like home and Primrose was dreading the thought of leaving. When she left the Shire, the loneliness and the longing of home had surprised her and left a shadow hovering over her heart and mind. It made her doubt herself and for Primrose, that alone was enough to hate herself for letting Gandalf talk her into coming on this journey. She hated doubting herself, it wasn't normal for her. Primrose had always been so sure of who she was but now she wasn't so sure and with Elrond's offer for her to stay, prim wasn't sure if she could refuse. One thing was for certain, Primrose Mirabella Took had some serious thinking to do.

The rest of her day was spent doing just that, thinking. Thinking and further exploring the Last Homely House. Primrose had found herself in a small but grandly decorated circular room. The walls were covered with painting and tapestries telling the tale of some great battle from long ago and at the room's center, stood a statue with looked to be standing guard over a pedestal which was empty. It had obviously had purpose, there was an object that was meant to lay here but perhaps it had not been delivered or found yet. Primrose's wondered what could be the missing centerpiece; perhaps, she thought that maybe the images decorating the walls may hold some clues. The emotions emanating from the tapestries and paintings caught her off guard. Primrose had heard that the elves had a way to weaving emotion into their crafts but had, up until now, thought it was myth or superstition. Each image she laid her eyes upon sent upon her a different onslaught of emotions, whether it was a deep sadness, fear, desperation, or some other emotion that made Prim tremble and want to run. She couldn't though; she couldn't run despite how she wanted too for the magic of the artwork kept her eyes glued to image after image. It was if the magic wanted her to see the end of their story. At last, when Primrose felt as though she'd collapse, her cheeks wet with the tears she'd been shedding, she finally came to the painting. It was large and stood on the wall, directly in front of the empty pedestal. On it, a giant towering creature in black, evil looking armor stood towering over a man, with a mace poised to strike down the man. However, the man stood defiant against the evil before him, his courage never failing as his hand gripped a broken sword. Primrose could feel the man's courage through the painting just as she could feel the fear and desperation hidden beneath. Suddenly, her eyes were pulled away from the man's courageous form and landed on the towering creature shrouded in black armor and she felt pure terror. This being was the deepest, darkest form of evil. This thing that took the form of a man, had laid waste to armies, destroyed lives...and he enjoyed it. The two black holes in the creature's helm seemed to bore right into her, speaking to her. She couldn't understand the words but she recognized, all too clearly the feeling behind them. A flash of gold, gripped her attention and her eyes landed on the evil man's raised hand. A ring. It was simple but it seemed to glow against the man's armored finger. It was a cold light; the ring was as evil as the man who wore it. With a strong jerk, Primrose pulled herself away from the painting's thrall and fled the room and vowed never to return.

After finding a quiet corning, Primrose calmed and was soon laughing at herself. "You silly thing you," she had chided herself, "letting a painting get to you like that, you little ninny." Soon, Primrose was off again in relatively high spirits. It wasn't until she rounded another corner outside that she saw something that made her heart jump into her throat, her spine go ramrod straight and caused her face to turn crimson.

Elsewhere, Lord Elrond was strolling along with Lindr by his side. Lindr had felt it needed that he brought his concerns to his Lord and was now busy making these worries known. The two went back and forth, speaking in elvish and with Lindr doing most of the talking.

"- the kitchens will not be able to keep up at this rate. They are running our supplies low and they will completely deplete our stores if they are here for much longer. Lord Elrond, when are these dwarves leaving?"

Elrond let out a deep sigh and shook his head, "They will leave whenever they choose to. I should not think they will be here much longer, perhaps a few more days at most."

"And what shall we do if they eat us out of house and home? What then, Lord Elrond? And what of their behavior?" Lindr asked heatedly, quite annoyed with the shabby manners of the dwarves.

"We shall manage, I am sure they will-" Lord Elrond paused, eyes catching a very flustered and red Primrose walking hurriedly towards them, looking as though she had seen a ghost. It was quite comical, "Why Miss Took," he said, switching to common tongue, "you look as if you've seen a ghost!"

"I wish I had!" Prim squeaked, turning an even more vibrant shade of red than Elrond would have thought possible, "I do not think I'll be able to unsee what I just witnessed!" Primrose passed them quickly, with only a brief pause in front of the two elves before fleeing down the corridor wailing about she wished she could scrub the image from her eyes.

The two elves looked at one another for a moment in utter confusion. "What in Arda is the matter with her?" Lindr asked breathlessly, once again in elvish, as he gazed down the hall in which Prim had fled down.

"What, indeed." Lord Elrond muttered thoughtfully, as he slowly pivoted on his feet so that he now faced the direction Prim had come from. "I believe, if we continue on, we might be able to solve the mystery. I cannot imagine what in my Home could have affected her so."

Lindr nodded in agreement as the two elves set out on their own little quest to investigate what could've triggered such a reaction from the gentle hobbit maiden. Lord Elrond seemed to be taking the mystery a little more seriously than Lindr for the thought of something in his realm would cause such distress to one of his guests unsettled him greatly. Lindr, being the serious minded elf that he was, was thinking something similar but he was more convinced that one of the younger, more playful elves may have gone overboard with one of their pranks. They were nearing the entrance to one of the many courtyards when Lindr spoke again, "Whatever it was, it caused Miss Took great distress." About that time, the two elves rounded the corner and stopped dead in their tracks. Lindr's jaw dropped and Elrond hissed a sharp intake of breath through his nose. They quickly turned about, retreating back into the hall they had just come from, leaving a bunch of completely nude dwarves skinny dipping in a fountain. As they retreated, they had to agree with Primrose, what they had just witnessed could not be unseen.

The day had finally come to a close and reluctantly, Primrose joined the dwarves for dinner, being careful to not make eye contact with any of them, for the image of them at the fountain, was still (unfortunately) stuck in her head. She did not stay for long, nor did she want to for they were currently wearing their long underwear, which was too close to naked for her comfort. Once she finished eating, she quickly made her escape and retreated to her room. On her way, she thought it a bit peculiar that the dwarves had moved their 'camp' closer to her room, so close in fact that from the stairs that led up to her room, she could still see the glow of their fire and hear their boisterous laughs. Primrose couldn't help but wonder if her little outburst had anything to do with it, but she had little time to ponder for the voices of Gandalf and Elrond snapped her attention elsewhere. The two old friends were across a little ravine, oblivious to the fact they had an audience now listening in for they were too engrossed in their discussion to notice. Their conversation, from what Primrose could overhear was a little disturbing; they were discussing their quest and more importantly their leader, Thorin. She had not wanted to be an eavesdropper but she couldn't help but hear their conversation but from the ill words Prim was hearing Elrond speak about Thorin, she could tear herself away and she found herself getting increasingly upset with the elf. Primrose was so engrossed in listening in that she never noticed the shadow coming up behind her until she spotted a dark form directly behind her. She spun and jumped, clasping a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't shout. Her shoulders slumped in relief, it was only Thorin. The dwarf held his index finger up to his mouth, signaling her to remain quiet before he turned his attention to Gandalf and Elrond who were making their way up some stairs. Talk about awkward. That was exactly how Primrose felt during those tense seconds watching Thorin listen to the none-too-kind words spoken matter-o-factly by Lord Elrond and Gandalf's weak defense. The look on Thorin's face almost broke her heart, he looked almost betrayed and how could he not be. He showed much more restraint than Primrose would have expected even from herself if it was her and her kin they were accusing of madness. Thorin was not mad, no not in the sense Elrond was using; it was true Thorin Oakenshield was coarse, rude, snobbish and frightfully determined but he was not crazy. Despite Primrose's less than pleasant view of the dwarf prince, she could not see this madness that Elrond spoke of. Even if it was true, that madness truly ran through the line Durin, it didn't mean Thorin was destined to succumb to it.

It seemed like minutes but only seconds after Thorin's arrival, the wizard and elf disappeared leaving dwarf and hobbit alone. Thorin didn't move, he didn't speak and Primrose could have sworn that he didn't even blink. All the dwarf did was stare at the doorway Gandalf and Elrond had disappeared through. In his eyes a torrent of emotion and thought swirled and clashed like the stormy sea upon the rocks, and Primrose could tell that Thorin was unsure how to respond or that perhaps he couldn't. Her gentle spirit urging her on, Prim knew she had to do something so; she placed a hand on one of his that he had clenched to his sides in tight a tight fist. He jerked at the sensation and turned to look at her with unreadable eyes but she merely smiled reassuringly and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Do not trouble yourself, it doesn't matter what he says."

Thorin's eyes darted down Primrose's hand that was still resting on his and after a moment he pulled away and took a step back and looked up at her with a distrusting glare, "Was it not you who said elves were wise? I would think you would agree with your precious Lord Elrond."

Primrose only allowed a frown to appear for only a moment before her lips pulled back into a small smile though her eyes remained cold. She should have expected such a response from the likes of him but she had made the effort to cheer him up and she wasn't going to let his cold demeanor get to her. "Just because they are wise does not mean they know everything. Wisdom does not come with the ability to know what lies in one's heart. Lord Elrond is the wisest person I have ever had the honor of meeting and I will always welcome his counsel but he does not know you, Thorin Oakenshield." A corner of Prim's mouth pulled up into a smirk and her eyes regained a small spark as she looked at him, placing her hands on her hips, "Dwarves and Elves have never had the best relationship, it is not surprising he would think so little of you...if I were different, perhaps I would agree with him for you are not the most likeable of people." Primrose let out an exhausted sounding sigh and shook her head when Thorin made a loud scoffing sound at her. "See this is why everyone you meet expects and thinks the worst of you. I don't know why you believe you must act this way or what has forced you to become so cold towards everyone you do not consider family or what you expect to accomplish by acting so but I can assure you, there are better ways. If you expect to gain more respect than I can promise you that you will be disappointed. All you will achieve is gaining the loathing of all who meet you. If I am honest, I can say that I was quite in awe of you when we first met. Your high and noble birth is quite obvious in the way you carry yourself but having known you, I can say that I do not like you and as our journey progresses I find my respect for you shrinking as well. Thorin Oakenshield, respect does come with rights or blood, it is earned."

A growl escaped Thorin's face which had grown red, "If you hold me in such low opinions, why do you even bother in trying to console me?"

Primrose let out a small laugh, "I find myself asking the same question but every time I get the same answer. That is who I am. When I see someone upset or in need, I want to help them in any way I can. I would like to think that I am a good person and I can strive to live by that. I believe that if I live my life by doing right by others and staying true to myself than I will live a full and healthy life with no regrets. You and the others may laugh and call me soft but I do not apologize for being who I am. You stood there and quietly listened to someone, who did not know you, insult both you and your family. You did not deserve those remarks whether you were meant to hear them or not and that is why I bothered." Thorin was now looking at her with a strange clouded expression, his dark eyebrows furrowed as if he was deep in thought or trying to solve some vexing riddle. The look was so intense that Primrose found herself getting hot in the face and flustered feeling. There was really no reason for to feel embarrassed, after all what she said was true and she would say it all again if she had to but the intense calculating look from Thorin seemed to look too deeply at her, as if he was trying to find all of her secrets. Abruptly, Primrose coughed and smoothed out the front of her dress, "Well, that's that then. It that is all, I'll be retiring for the evening. With a quick bob, Primrose turned and darted up the stairs towards her room.

"Miss Took."

She paused, her hand resting on the knob to her room, and turned to look back at Thorin. It looked as if he wanted to say something but as she waited, he said nothing. She waited for a moment longer before sighing, "You needed anything?"

The dwarf, being snapped out of whatever daze he was in, cleared his throat and straightened his back. "Yes, pack up and be ready to leave, we leave before dawn." Turning, Thorin left before Prim could argue.

She went to bed feeling horribly depressed, she had her knapsack packed and had her cousin's clothes lain out and her new elvish dress lying across a chair. She would leave it behind for Primrose knew that it would get ruined and dirty, even if it was packed safely away. Perhaps the elves would save it for her so she could pick in up when she passed through on her way back home. If she ever gets that far. It was still dark out when there was a heavy knock on her door. Primrose felt heavy as she got dressed and gave the dress on the chair one last look before she opened the door to join the waiting dwarves. They hadn't even left Rivendell and she was already missing it.

**As you might have noticed there's something that might be building between two of our main characters. I know Arwen isn't in the book, but I think our little Primrose needed some much deserved "girl time" and I have always liked to think that Arwen is a highly curious and head strong elf that doesn't always listen to what her dear daddy tells her to do. If she wanted to meet Primrose, or any other member of the Company then she would, despite what he dad told her.**


End file.
